Touching the Sky
by Alphinia
Summary: Norman is keeping secrets from May, secrets that have led her back to Hoenn. But elite forces are throwing the region into turmoil, and legends are beginning to blur with reality. Armed with only a small pokemon and the guidance of a boy who has given up, somehow May has to set things right again. Based on R/S/E and ORAS.
1. Prologue: The Red Bandana

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue: The Red Bandana<strong>

May turned in her bed, tangling her tiny body even further into her sheets.

The night was still, so very still. Not a single peep was audible from her parents' room down the hall, and the irrepressible darkness of her bedroom window mocked her. She knew instinctively that the hour was late, the type of late that she always knew existed but her mommy and daddy never let her stay up to before.

May just wanted to go back to sleep. Whining to herself, she clutched at her covers and faced away from the window. Slowly, she returned to the comfort of her dreamland, a mystical place where she was bigger and braver and she could play with Brendan all day without getting tired.

"_Betcha can't get this," Brendan cooed, grinning a feisty little boy grin and dangling a piece of familiar red cloth in between May's eyes. _

_It was one of her prized possessions, a red bandana she always wore over her hair when she went outside but didn't feel like brushing it. Her father had brought it back from some far away tournament just for her. May loved it, especially for adventure games. She thought it made her look like a daring pirate!_

"_Oh yes I can!" May scowled. Suddenly she felt taller. Smirking, she reached for a pokeball, ready to unleash all of her might as the world's most powerful trainer on Brendan… _

_But something was stopping her. Suddenly, she couldn't move her arms, or her legs, and a huge weight pressed against her chest. Something dark loomed over her…_

May jolted awake, struggling in her bed. But the something dark didn't go away, and she couldn't get up. Her nightmare had melted into a horrifying reality, one amplified by the eerie wind blowing in from her now open window.

The creature was long, thick, and disgustingly segmented as it towered atop her. A smooth gray chest led to a pointed, razor sharp magenta beak and a pair of piercing yellow eyes. Legs, too many of them, wiggled as it leaned in towards her. The thing, no, the _monster,_ hissed, and its feelers glided over the soft skin of May's face.

She let out a bloodcurdling scream.

A hand clapped over her mouth, and a humanoid figure clad in all black entered her line of vision. The monster backed off fractionally, but its warning gaze never left hers.

"Shh, shh," the voice, that of a man, ordered. It was distinctly low and dangerous. "Wouldn't want to wake anyone, would we?"

May's eyes widened, the sapphire irises alight with pure panic. Yes, she did want to wake someone! She wished her daddy were here, here so that he could make all the bad monsters go away.

And then Norman came bursting in her door, his well-trained vigoroth roaring furiously in front of him. May had never seen someone look so powerful in only his pajamas.

The scary stranger prevented him from reaching her. He said something to his monster, and the bug's legs extended and wrapped around her, pulling her out of her bed and against its body. A white flash blinded May, and a giant spider was soon tumbling across the room with Vigoroth. Norman struggled to reach her, but he couldn't seem to get around the grappling pair. He shouted something nasty at the other man, but May's mind was too clouded by panic to really understand what he said.

The next second, the wall behind them exploded in a shower of rubble. The creature clutching at May screeched in pain, and its grip slackened enough so that she fell to the floor on all fours. As May struggled to breathe, she saw Slaking behind her, holding a death grip around the bug monster's neck. The bug's long body thrashed about wildly, but Slaking held tight with a determination May had never seen out of the normally lazy beast.

Both of Norman's pokemon were winning, driven by the raw desire to protect the people they loved. The strange man seemed to sense this, for he cursed and returned both of his defeated monsters. But then he pulled out another pokeball, one containing a purple moth-like pokemon.

The creature's wings glowed, and just as quickly as the man had arrived, he was gone.

May's bedroom was completely destroyed. Her bed was in splinters in the corner, and many of her toys lay in fragments around the room. Breaking out into a sob, May ran to her father and wrapped her arms tightly around his middle. Behind her, she could feel the powerful presences of Vigoroth and Slaking, but she only cried harder.

Something wet and salty dripped onto May's forehead. It felt like a tear, but she knew it was impossible for someone as strong as her daddy to cry.

"I'm so sorry, May, so sorry," Norman whimpered into her silky brown hair. "This is all my fault… I'm so sorry…"

Through her tears, May caught a glimpse of something bright red underneath the remains of her dresser. Her bandana.

Everything wasn't destroyed at all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>I've been working on this story for months, and I finally decided to publish it today in honor of the ORAS release (And I thought I should get this out there before the approaching influx of Hoenn fics). This story is going to be mainly based on Emerald with lots of my own ideas thrown in, along with some elements from ORAS. I'm super excited for it!

I'll update next Friday! Until then, please please please review. If you do, I'll try to return the favor for one of your stories.


	2. Chapter 1: Hating Hoenn

Thanks for the reviews last chapter! I'm so sorry if you guys though I updated again. Stupid me found a typo and decided to upload a new chapter instead of replacing this one, but the real update will come Friday!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: Hating Hoenn<strong>

The bird swooped in the kitchen window in the middle of a lovely spaghetti dinner.

It was a rare evening that found every member of the Maple family dining together. Typically, it was just May and Caroline eating alone, with Norman away at his advanced pokemon facility training. Always training.

The flying type ruined that. Its arrival was the first event that led to a spiraling tornado that would throw May's life out of control. Not that she was aware of that, at the moment.

As the pokemon landed in the dead center of their table, metallic talons clinking against the mahogany, Caroline began shrieking for Norman to do something. May just stared at it, open-mouthed. Her forkful of noodles was frozen in midair.

Composed of all metal and armed with razor sharp wings and an even sharper beak, the pokemon was quite the sight to behold. May knew that he was a skarmory, a species she had never seen in person, but had glimpsed a few pictures of. It was said that if one wanted to catch a skarmory in Johto, it was necessary to travel to the most remote wilderness in the region.

Skarmory held himself proudly, in a way that only an immensely powerful pokemon could. He stared strait at Norman, his golden eyes alight with intelligence. Norman stared back. May followed his gaze to the bird's leg, where a folded up piece of paper had been tied carefully with a thread of string.

"It's alright," Norman said, in an odd voice. "I think I know this skarmory."

Skarmory held out his leg imploringly. Norman cautiously took the paper from him, and with a screech and flutter of his wings, the pokemon was gone. May followed its movement with wide eyes, but Caroline was staring nervously at her husband. She rung her hands around her napkin, a habit she only resorted to when something was really getting to her.

Norman's face paled as his eyes scanned the note. He looked up at his wife and daughter with a distant look on his face.

"I've gotten a job offer," he stated.

They stared at him. By that time, Caroline's napkin was in tatters around her plate.

Caroline laid her hand on his arm questioningly. "Honey…?"

"It's in Hoenn. The Petalburg gym leader has retired." Norman cleared his throat. He exchanged a look with Caroline that May couldn't read. She frowned at them, uncomprehending. All she knew was that her mother did not seem happy. Come to think of it, neither did her dad.

"I'm going to accept."

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Rustboro City, the city probing the integration of nature and science! Here lies the very foundation of the Devon Corporation, formed in 1897 by-"<p>

May tried to drone out the mechanized voice over the intercom. She needed to put all of her focus into following her mother and Vigoroth amongst the sea of other people exiting the ferry. She was exhausted after traveling for nearly five days straight, and to be honest, she could care less about this Rustboro City!

The heat was overpowering, especially in her jeans, and it felt unfamiliar compared to the milder temperatures of Johto. It was twilight, so she couldn't really see her surroundings apart from the silhouettes of a few sky scrapers in the distance. Either way, everything was foreign, and she didn't like it at all.

Hoenn was May's birthplace, but she definitely didn't consider it her home anymore. After all, a few fleeting, childhood memories could never outweigh the fact that she had been attacked here when she was only five years old.

She just wished she could be back in Azalea Town, the place she had lived for the past ten years. All of her friends were there, practically her everything! She had always dreamed of taking that first step as a trainer into the Ilex Forest (If her parents ever permitted it, that is) and conquering the Johto League in such a way that would allow her to finally match up to her father.

All of those hopes, all of those dreams, were now out of the question. As if her parents would be more likely to let her travel _here_.

"May?" Caroline said, breaking her out of her simmering thoughts. May turned to glare at her mother, to remind her that one of them, at least, was still angry at the way Norman had uprooted them.

She held back the ugly look when she realized they were standing in front of a large moving truck. The driver sat behind the steering wheel, staring at them impatiently through the windshield. As her mother approached the man to exchange a few words with him, May examined the front seat. It seemed awfully small for all of them to fit…

Caroline returned, looking at her apologetically. "So, it turns out that the number of us was miscommunicated, so you'll have to ride in the back," she said, and then she took her place beside the driver.

May huffed. Grumbling to herself, she crawled into the back of the truck, nestling amongst the boxes that contained all of their possessions that hadn't already been sent ahead of them with her father or left behind. The air smelled of dust and mold, no doubt because it wasn't equipped for living creatures to travel in.

Vigoroth followed her into the mass of boxes, pulling the door shut and casting them into darkness. The already small space seemed to shrink even more.

Talk about riding first class.

"Vig," he growled, sounding just as irritable as May felt.

"You're telling me," she said, wrapping her hands around her knees to sulk. She leaned down to rest her chin on them, but the truck hit a pothole and nearly sent her tumbling over.

Vigoroth made another unpleasant sound, digging his capable black claws into the floor to anchor himself. He didn't seem angry about being back in Hoenn, his native land. Instead, he was frustrated at being left behind by his master, stuck with the job of guarding his wife and daughter on their journey.

Personally, May was angry about both.

* * *

><p>May woke to a jolt and the sound of a loud clang.<p>

Disoriented, she sat up and rubbed at her eyes. Her neck ached at the movement, and her back seemed very stiff for some reason. It took her several moments to recall the reality of the moving truck.

The sound of Vigoroth grunting beside her reminded her that she wasn't alone. He shifted about, his white fur occasionally brushing lightly across her arm in his impatience to move. May wasn't surprised that he didn't seem to have fallen asleep all night. In all the time she had known him, she couldn't recall_ ever _having seen him sleep.

May then realized that the truck wasn't moving. It couldn't be, because she wasn't being jostled about like a ragdoll anymore.

Just as she was pondering if her mother had forgotten she did, in fact, have a daughter in the back of the truck, the door swung open to reveal the grumpy face of their mover. Light washed in on May, and she shielded her eyes as they adjusted to the sunshine once again. Vigoroth leapt out of the truck immediately, purposefully jostling against the moving man on his way.

"Nasty pokemon you have there," the man grunted, wiggling his sore arm.

"I know," May said, sliding out of the truck and into the fresh grass of her new lawn.

The mover rolled his eyes and released two machoke. They expertly began lifting the boxes out of the truck and placing them on the ground, where they could get a better look at what was in each one.

May was soon distracted from them by the sight of her childhood home.

Littleroot Town instilled a near painful sense of deja vu in the girl. Across the clearing, several quaint brown houses dotted the grass, most of them accompanied by colorful flowerbeds and cute little ornaments here and there. It was small, smaller even than Azalea Town, but there was something about it that made May's heart swell with a faint fondness of simpler times.

"I didn't realize how much I'd missed it," Caroline said softly, popping up beside May. All of the woman's worry from the previous days seemed momentarily evaporated at the sight of her old hometown. For the time being, May even forgot to be annoyed.

"Yeah," she agreed simply. Even Vigoroth, who was sniffing the air, managed a toothy grin.

"I guess we should go inside," Caroline said finally, gesturing to the house closest to them. It looked similar to the others, although it lacked the unique touches that came with being lived in.

May and Vigoroth followed Caroline into their new house, leaving the mover and his pair of machoke to finish dealing with their boxes. The interior was simple, but nice, just like the outside. The living room was suited with brand new leather couches and an armchair, complete with a matching rug and a coffee table. A large, flat screen TV rested as the living room's centerpiece, while the other side of the room opened to a pretty kitchen with large windows. A closed door led to another room, probably a bathroom.

If nothing else, Norman's new job must pay well.

"Let's go check out your room," Caroline urged, apparently noticing that May seemed to have warmed slightly to the idea of Littleroot. "Upstairs, second door on the left. Your father even paid for new furniture in all of the bedrooms!"

Caroline headed to a set of stars at the back of the kitchen, and May trailed after her. She ran her hand along the fine, wooden rail of the stairs as she went, wishing she could be more excited at the fact that their new house was actually kind of cute. As they reached the top and began down the hallway, her mother chatted about all of cute family pictures and other decorations she could place and at exactly which angle.

"Do you like it?" Caroline asked May hopefully when they reached her bedroom.

May could tell immediately that her mother had been the one to pick everything out, because quite frankly, her father wouldn't have chosen something so- well, _pretty_. Her new bedspread was very nice, covered with red and white flower designs, and her favorite pichu pokedoll rested at the head of it. The frame of the bed was white, as were her desk, bedside table, and two dressers. Even a nice new TV sat directly across from her bed, set at a perfect angle for her to watch it from. All that was left was for May to personalize it with any photos or trinkets she had brought with her.

"Yeah, it looks good," May said truthfully, if not still a bit sullenly.

Caroline smiled, obviously relieved. She and May then wandered around the rest of the rooms upstairs. The bathroom was straight across the hall from her, decorated to the theme of a dancing water pokemon May only vaguely recalled from a textbook back at her pokemon academy. Ludicolo, she thought it was called.

There was a hall closet, and a spare bedroom at the end of the hall. It was almost the same as hers, except smaller and a bit more squared off. Caroline told her that the master bed and bath was downstairs, where she and Norman would obviously be staying.

"Oh, it's nearly noon already," Caroline said, when they had finished checking out the house.

May could practically feel her stomach grumbling. "Do we have groceries here for lunch? You didn't feed me breakfast this morning!"

Caroline waved off the breakfast comment, but her expression made May feel apprehensive. It was the face Caroline always wore when she was about to tell May something she knew she wouldn't like. May fingered her shoulder length, dusty brown hair nervously.

"You know our friends, the Birches, live right next door," Caroline said.

"Who?" May said, suddenly faking interest in the marble pattern of the kitchen counter. In all honesty, the name 'Birch' did sound familiar. It stirred memories of chasing a boy with messy black hair, and faked pokemon battles that would decide the fate of the world in her five-year-old imagination.

"You know, one of your dad's closest friends, Professor Birch," Caroline said. "You used to play with their son, Brendan, all the time when we lived here."

"How nice," May babbled. She didn't like where this was going, so she tried to change the subject. "Hey, look how shiny the faucet on our sink is!"

Caroline gave her a weird look, and then announced, "So Lisa invited us over for lunch today when I last talked to her, and I told her we would love to come!"

"Mom!" May complained, wrinkling her nose. She saw Vigoroth in the background, stretched out on the longest couch like a king. And here she was, having to go meet semi-strangers who had known her in some of the most awkward years of her life!

Besides, didn't people in Hoenn realize that _dinner_ was the time to invite people over, not lunch?

Caroline would have none it. Groaning, May went upstairs to change. Her legs were hot and stiff from her jeans, and her blouse had gotten all wrinkly. Most of her clothes were already put away in her closet, so she went straight to the section she normally reserved for summer and chose a pair of jean shorts and a striped tank top.

May glanced in her mirror briefly, and saw that her hair looked like a pidgey nest. She tried finger combing it, but it still looked vermin infested, so she settled for a messy ponytail. She inspected her reflection closely for anything glaringly awful about it, and decided that she looked presentable. After all, if she was going to be meeting Brendan, a teenage boy, she didn't want to look like she had just rolled around in the back of a moving truck for hours (Which she had).

Then, May began feeling foolish for wanting to look decent, just for someone she didn't even know. _"He probably doesn't even remember me at all,"_ she thought gloomily.

"Mom, I'm ready to go die," May called dramatically as she trampled down the stairs.

"Good, let's go," Caroline said, happily. She fluffed up her short hair and led her grumbling daughter out the door.

The Birches' house was the closest to theirs, being only a couple hundred feet away. Two beautiful rose gardens lay on each side of the front door, which had a sign that read in fancy letters, "_Welcome to the Birches'"_. Caroline raised her hand to knock, obviously excited about seeing her old friends for the first time in a decade.

A small, blond boy opened the door. He looked at them through narrowed, chocolate eyes. "Who are you?" he questioned boldly. He couldn't have been more than eight years old.

Caroline blinked, taken aback. May just stood behind her mother, deciding that of course, the people of Hoenn would all turn out to be rude. Just her luck!

"Noah, that's not nice!" a woman's voice scolded from inside. The door opened further to reveal a pretty woman with reddish brown eyes. Her black hair was streaked with a few strands of gray, and she looked approximately May's parents' age. She was holding a dishrag, as if she had just been scrubbing her countertops. The memory was very fuzzy, but May thought she looked kind of familiar.

The woman, who May assumed to be Lisa Birch, pulled Noah aside and kindly told them to come in. Their house, she noticed, had a floor plan very similar to theirs, although upon closer inspection, she realized that it was startlingly clean. Cleaner even than May's family's house, despite the fact that they had just moved in.

As Lisa conversed with Caroline, May noticed that Lisa and Noah both had an odd accent. She had occasionally been told that she sounded funny when she first moved to Johto, but she had thought nothing of it as people became more accustomed to her and her parents. Either way, the Hoenn accent was much more prevalent to her ears in the Birches than in her own family.

"Oh, May, you've gotten so big," Lisa squealed suddenly, eyeing May up and down. Surprisingly, she yanked May into a brief hug. She patted the older woman's back awkwardly and waited for her to let go. "You're so pretty, too!"

"Thanks," May said, smiling even though she knew it was only customary for all adults to compliment the children of their friends.

"You're a gym leader's daughter! Your dad's awesome!" Noah blurted excitedly, obviously seeing her in a brand new perspective now that he knew who she was. He tugged on her wrist eagerly. "Oh my gosh, I bet he's given you so many strong and cool pokemon too! Can I see them? Please?"

May swallowed, looking at the floor. "I uh… I don't have any pokemon," she said, sounding bitter even to herself. This was the part she always hated.

"Oh," Noah said, clearly disappointed. The look on his face told her that he was having trouble believing her.

"_Sorry, I don't understand it either, kid,"_ May wanted to say, because she didn't understand. Just because one thing happened, one time, Norman refused to let her do anything. It wasn't fair.

"Oh, May," Lisa said, interrupting the uncomfortable silence. "Brendan's upstairs in his room. Why don't you go grab him and tell him the sandwiches are ready?"

"What?" May said, blankly.

Lisa repeated her request, only it didn't sound any better the second time. Caroline exchanged a look with Lisa that May definitely didn't like, and Noah had moved over to the table, where he smirked knowingly. May's sapphire eyes darted back and forth between the two women, and finally, she realized there was really no way out of the request.

"His room is upstairs at the end of the hallway."

"Okay," May said slowly, accepting her fate.

She treaded up the stairs, biting her lip so hard that it was probably at risk of falling off. May forced herself to stop by the time she reached the top of the stairs, and then she made the walk of doom to the door at the end of the hallway. It was slightly ajar, and the light was on.

May knocked lightly, and of course, no one answered. Cursing the world, mostly Hoenn, for all of her bad luck, she pushed the door open.

The bed was made, if not a bit hurriedly, and Brendan had the basic furniture that any bedroom would have. A belt lay across his bed, attached to five pokeballs, indicating that Brendan was at least a somewhat accomplished trainer. A couple of DVDs lay on his bedside table, and his laptop was turned on at his desk. A few pairs of tennis shoes lay neatly by his closet door, and a stray soda can sat beside his DVDs. Surprisingly, no clothes were strewn across the floor, and other than the strange neatness and a particular fondness for the colors red and black, the room seemed pretty average for a teenage boy.

Except for the fact that there was no teenage boy present.

Something creaked down the hall, and May started, catching her foot on something right beneath her. She wobbled dangerously for a few seconds, trying to grab hold of the dresser beside her. Instead, she fell to the ground with a loud 'thump', catching herself on her hands and ramming her side painfully into the corner of the dresser.

She didn't even have time to acknowledge her pain, because the dresser rocked back and forth from the impact, sending a pokeball tumbling down off of it. Desperately, May lunged for it, catching it on the tips of her fingers before it crashed into the ground. She sighed in relief.

May's legs were tangled up over a backpack, which had been thrown carelessly right beside the door._ "Oh, so you clean up your clothes, but not your backpack," _she thought in annoyance. She turned her attention back to the pokeball.

It was a standard red and white version, although it was scuffed from lots of use. The metal was cool and light to the touch, revealing that it was empty. Oddly, it had a thick layer of dust on it, as if it hadn't been moved in a very long time. May's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she studied it.

"What do you think you're doing?" a sharp voice questioned from behind her.

She knew the boy had to be Brendan.

He was tall and tan from the Hoenn sun, and he had the same unique colored eyes as his mother, along with a handsome face. A few strands of the familiar black hair stuck out from underneath what May thought was an odd white hat, and he wore a red shirt with black designs and matching black gym shorts. His sneakers were grass stained, but appeared to be holding up rather well. May knew even more that this guy was a trainer just by the way he was dressed, and he was one who knew what he was doing.

Hurriedly, May leapt to her feet and smoothed her clothes with her free hand. She held the pokeball out to Brendan.

"Sorry, I fell," she explained, laughing awkwardly. "Actually, I tripped over your backpack and almost broke my face, but-"

"I meant what are you doing in my room, touching my stuff?" Brendan snapped, yanking the pokeball out of her hand. He clutched it to his chest, like it was some priceless jewel she had been trying to snatch.

"Your mom sent me up here to get you," May said uncertainly, caught off guard by his tone. She knew it was a little weird that she was in his room without him there, but still. "Lunch is ready."

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Brendan asked, still glaring at her. He gently put the pokeball back on his dresser, pushing it back into the farthest corner so that it wouldn't fall again.

"You weren't in here to hear me knock in the first place!" May cried, her own temper finally stirring now that she was getting over her surprise. Her lips twitched into an ugly line as she scowled at him.

"I was in the bathroom! Don't you know it's rude to barge into strangers' rooms?!"

"Don't you know it's rude to yell at your guest?!"

"Hey guys, lunch is- oh." Noah was standing in the doorframe, watching them like they were crazy. They probably looked it too, with May standing, hands on her hips, and Brendan with his arms crossed as they both glared each other down. Plus, Brendan sort of towered over May, but she wasn't intimidated!

Brendan cleared his throat, and May forced a smile at Noah. "Okay, we're coming!" she said, trying to look for all the world like nothing was wrong as she went back downstairs. After a few moments, the boys trailed behind her.

May half expected Lisa's sandwiches to be riddled with strange Hoenn spices or mystery meats, but thankfully, they tasted just like any sandwich she had had back in Johto (They were especially good, if that counted). She spent the entire meal determinedly ignoring Brendan, and he did the same to her.

Caroline and Lisa carried the entire conversation. May felt bad, because they kept trying to include them with questions like "So, do you have a boyfriend?" (No), "Brendan, do you know what time your dad will by home?" (No), or "May, what's your favorite pokemon?" (Anything except bugs). She could tell they wanted them to be friends, but obviously, that wasn't going to happen. May sadly eyed her half eaten ham sandwich.

"So, Brendan, Norman told me you've become quite the trainer while we were gone," Caroline said eventually, blue eyes shining with something like pride as she looked at Brendan.

His expression immediately hardened, and he picked darkly at his crusts. If May thought the room had been silent before, she was wrong. Even Noah had stopped fidgeting to look at Brendan with something like horror on his face.

"I'm just helping out my dad with some fieldwork," Brendan mumbled finally.

Lisa quickly jumped in, trying to fill the suffocating silence as Caroline realized she had asked the wrong question. "Oh, son, don't be modest!" she said, her cheery tone sounding just a bit too cheery to be genuine.

Brendan said something inaudible under his breath.

"Speaking of training, have you fed your pokemon yet? I'm sure they'd love to-"

"They don't like new people. But you're right, they're probably hungry," Brendan said abruptly, standing from the table. "I should go take care of that."

He turned to May and Caroline. "It was nice seeing you."

And then he was gone, probably to shut himself up in his room again.

* * *

><p>May kicked at the ground bitterly, her shoe leaving a light indent in the grass.<p>

After leaving lunch at the Birches', May hadn't wanted to go back home. Yeah, her new house was nice, but she really had no desire to go sit inside or visit with other neighbors all day, dealing with her mother's weird looks and false positive comments. She would much rather be alone, so she could mope about her lack of a happy future in Littleroot in peace.

At least the breeze was nice.

She had already made three laps around the entire town, and judging by the position of the sun, it wouldn't be dark for a few more hours yet. Unfortunately, the houses stayed as boring as ever. The lack of excitement was so prevalent that the only other person she passed was a little girl bouncing a ball against a house, all alone. May continued by the younger girl and stared out into the tree line longingly, but still nothing stirred.

"_Stupid boy," _May thought. _"Stupid Skarmory. Stupid Hoenn."_

May missed Azalea Town. As a place, it wasn't any nicer than Littleroot, but at least she had friends there. She had friends, a nice school, and the hope that her parents might one day loosen up and allow her to travel. For a moment, she had let herself hope that maybe she could at least find a friendly face in Brendan, but that was clearly a lost cause.

May was nearing the main entrance of Littleroot Town when a shrill shriek pierced the air. She jumped, raising her arms in preparation to defend her face. Instead of a dangerous projectile, the ball girl came running up to her in a panic.

"The professor, he's in trouble!" the girl screamed, catching sight of May. Large bow slightly askew in her hair, she began shaking May's arms. "We've got to do something! I heard him screaming!"

Something carried in the wind then, sounding suspiciously like a man's yell. May stared down the travel worn path that led to the wilderness, torn. For as long as she could remember, her father and every adult in her life had ingrained one rule into her brain: _Never, _under any circumstances, should she go into the wild without a pokemon.

"Should we go find him?" May asked, the words still echoing repeatedly in her mind.

The little girl eyed her like she was insane. "No, I think we'd better go get Brendan! I _know _he can save him!"

The echoes stopped. Instead, May felt a familiar flash of irritation. She was so _tired _of people thinking she couldn't do anything, like she was helpless. Just because she wasn't a trainer, it didn't mean she was worthless! She knew about pokemon, and she could be strong, too! More than anything, May wanted to prove that she could do anything that Brendan Birch could do. Better, in fact.

"I can help him," May said determinedly, ignoring the doubtful look thrown her way.

She drew in a deep breath and took a meaningful step out onto the travelers' path.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>If you're in the U.S., I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and a fun Black Friday ;)

I had the week off from school, but I've been very busy writing chapters for you guys. They take a really long time to write because they're pretty long, and I want them to be as good as possible. Plus I want to keep ahead with finals week coming up.

Any bets on which pokemon May gets?


	3. Chapter 2: A Change of Heart

Much love to all the reviewers who got me into the double digits within two updates :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: A Change of Heart<strong>

The child still inside of May was surprised when nothing mauled her the second she was out of town, but that first step was by far the hardest. More yells drifted to her ears as she walked, only encouraging her to go faster. By the time the Littleroot welcome sign had become a speck in the distance, she had arrived at a small clearing.

A primarily gray, canine pokemon stalked across the ground, red eyes trained viciously up into a nearby tree. Large fangs glinted in the sun as it snarled. May recognized it as a poochyena, a pack pokemon that had occasionally ventured into town and looted her family's trash when she was little. It glanced at her briefly, then snorted in disinterest and returned to circling its tree.

"H-hey, you! Please, help me!" a man's voice cried, laced with panic.

May looked up a bit higher in the tree. To her surprise, a bearded man sat in the lowest branches, trying desperately to maneuver his feet out of reach of the poohyena's awaiting teeth. His long white lab coat, which was ruffled and full of twigs, was an unmistakable sign that he was Professor Birch.

"What do I do?" May asked, watching the poochyena uncertainly. It still seemed as if it could care less about her.

"Go to my bag over there!" Professor Birch said quickly, pointing to a tan satchel lying amongst some tall grass. He let out a yelp as the poochyena's mouth nearly made contact with his toes. "There's a pokeball! Get it, and hurry!"

May ran over to the bag and opened the flap. The contents had been strewn about wildly, and she shuffled through stacks of paper and strange devices in search of the tell tale red of a pokeball. Finally, she found two wedged in the bottom corner of the bag.

She grabbed one randomly and threw it in the direction of Professor Birch's attacker. In a flash of white light, a small, green, bipedal lizard pokemon materialized. The creature had a red stomach and two big, yellow eyes with narrowed black pupils.

"Treecko," it said, crossing its arms and staring down the other pokemon coolly. His voice was lightly masculine, May thought.

Poochyena turned to growl at Treecko, its bushy tail bristling. May quickly appraised both pokemon. She knew how to battle, having been around Norman for her entire life and also getting frequent practice at trainer's school, where she was one of the better students. However, she really needed to know which attacks a pokemon knew before commanding it!

Deciding that Treecko was definitely a grass type, May suggested, "How about a razor leaf, Treecko?"

He glanced at her quizzically. Poochyena came charging behind him, but just before his opponent could make contact, he managed to leap nimbly out of the way. Poochyena came to an abrupt halt, spinning back to face Treecko and sending up a cloud of dirt and grass in the process.

A no go on the razor leaf, then.

Noticing Treecko's powerful tail, May got another idea. "Sorry! Try pound, then!"

Understanding dawned on his face, so when Poochyena ran forwards to tackle Treecko again, he leapt into the air and smashed his tail right across the canine's muzzle. Poochyena cried out in pain as its chin rammed into the ground. He backed up a bit, growling at Treecko. The smaller pokemon made a nasty noise back, and after a brief stare down, Poochyena sighed and trotted off into the bushes.

"Wow, way to go, Treecko!" May said enthusiastically, holding her hand down for Treecko to high five. He rolled his eyes, but still smacked her hand with his tiny green one.

"Thank you so much! I accidentally wandered a bit too close to that poochyena's den, and it wasn't happy. It's just that I research pokemon habitats, and-wait," Professor Birch said, climbing clumsily down from the tree. He did a double take at her. "You must be May!"

"Yep, just me," May said, laughing awkwardly.

"No wonder you did so well with a strange pokemon," Professor Birch said, leaning down to nurse one of his ankles. To May's shock, she could see two bloody puncture wounds marring his milky skin. Apparently, the poochyena had managed to make its mark before she had arrived. "Like father, like daughter, I suppose."

"Thanks," May said quickly, beaming on the inside at the praise. "But Professor, are you okay?"

He waved away her concern. "Trust me, their bark is way worse than their bite." However, when he shifted his ankle, he winced, causing May and even Treecko to watch him with concern. "Although neither is very pleasant."

"Treecko, tree," Treecko said, in something like agreement. He smirked.

Professor Birch laughed, and rubbed the little reptile on the head. "Yes, Treecko, you scared it away easily. Great job."

"Tree," Treecko said, shrugging and nudging May's calf lightly with his tail. Was he actually giving her some credit?

"Thanks, Treecko," she said, grinning down at him. He was such a cool pokemon! His species must be rare, because she had never seen one before.

Professor Birch watched them with a mysterious smile on his face. "You know, Treecko really seems to have taken to you, and I owe you. Why don't you take him?"

He picked up Treecko's pokeball from the ground (Where May must have dropped it in excitement) and dusted it off. He held it out to her.

May's mouth fell open. "Seriously? Yes! A thousand times yes!" she said excitedly, grabbing the pokeball. Then, realizing that her actions had been a bit rude, she tried to correct herself. "I-I mean uh… Thank you, professor. I'd love to have him!"

"Oh, it's nothing," Professor Birch said, chuckling at her enthusiasm. "Consider it a thank you for saving my hind end!"

To May, it was a huge deal, and she couldn't stop staring at Treecko proudly- _her_ pokemon. All hers! Even as he rubbed his temples and glared up at her for being so loud a moment ago, she couldn't stop grinning. They could be best friends, and she wouldn't be alone in this semi-strange place any longer! May struggled not to grab him and yank him into a hug, because something told her Treecko wouldn't appreciate that.

Then reality came crashing down on her. Her smile fell.

"Oh… But my Mom and Dad, they would never let me have a pokemon. They think I'm going to get hurt or something," May said. She didn't know whether to be angry again, or simply sad. She tried to hand the pokeball back to Professor Birch, leaning towards angry.

"Tree?" Treecko said, uncertainly watching his pokeball. He seemed like he was disappointed for a second, but then he crossed his arms and looked away as if he didn't care.

Professor Birch gazed at her thoughtfully for a long time, although he never made a move to take the pokeball back from her. The longer he stood there, the more May wished she hadn't told him about her parents' stupid rule. She could've taken Treecko and hidden him! And then, one day she would become the strongest trainer in all of Hoenn, a trainer that would even make her dad proud.

Well, she could've done something, at least!

Finally, Professor Birch smiled. "I'll let you in on a little secret, May. Your father wants you to have a pokemon; he asked me if I had anything special I could give you as soon as he arrived in Hoenn. You helping me just sped up the process."

May didn't believe him, not at first. After all, why would her father want her to get a pokemon? He had always rigidly refused every training related proposal she had brought up in the past. The idea that he would change his mind just like that was ludicrous.

"What… _Why?_" May blurted.

Professor Birch's expression turned serious. "He thinks it will be best for you, here."

He wouldn't say anything else on the matter, and May's questions were interrupted by the sound of a howl. At least three more howls answered the first one, causing both Professor Birch and May to shiver. Those poochyena, probably including the one from before, sounded a bit too close for comfort.

"Maybe this isn't the place to chat," Professor Birch suggested, and May quickly agreed with him.

They headed back in the direction of Littleroot, May blissfully clutching Treecko's pokeball to her chest. Yes, she was infinitely curious about why exactly her father had the sudden change of heart, but she decided not to argue anymore for the time being. She had a pokemon, and she was going to allow herself to be happy about it.

Treecko walked alongside them, having to move a bit faster to keep up with their longer legs. It might be easier to recall him until she got home, but May really didn't want to be parted from him just yet. Treecko's mood also seemed to be uplifted, for he would occasionally glance up at her with a half smile on his face before turning quickly away.

They arrived back in Littleroot in good time, and Professor Birch paused by the town sign. "I discussed this with Norman, and I thought I'd have a little more time, but I can have your trainer license registered in two days."

"Really?" May said, beaming. Treecko came to a stop next to her, standing closely to her foot. "Dad's even letting me leave home and everything? And actually battle?"

Professor Birch laughed. "Yes, really."

Maybe Hoenn wouldn't turn out so terrible after all.

* * *

><p>May sat on her couch later that night, flipping absentmindedly through the channels on their new flat screen. Shows in Hoenn were weird. She didn't recognize most of them, and the ones she did recognize were all jumbled up into different orders.<p>

Finally, she settled on a program called "Trainer Watch" and curled up with her feet in under her. A special about some lady called Winnona began, but May was more interested in Treecko. He sat on the seat next to her and was watching the TV with badly concealed interest. She smiled, noticing that he was so tiny that the cushion barely sunk around him.

"Treecko," May said. He looked at her obediently.

"_He needs a name,"_ she thought, for the millionth time.

All trainers didn't nickname their pokemon (Her father didn't), but May wanted to. Even though she had long come to the conclusion that treecko were a rare species, even in their native Hoenn, she wanted him to be as unique as possible. She didn't want to give a generic name, or some cliché name that had something to do with his type. Her eyes lit up when she thought of one she liked.

"Hmm," May said aloud. Treecko blinked up at her with his big, reptilian eyes. "I want to give you a nickname. Is that okay with you?"

He shrugged.

"Uh, I guess that's good then? How about Soren?" she suggested.

"Treecko," he said, in what sounded like approval.

"Great, Soren!" May said happily. Unable to resist the urge any longer, she reached over and picked him up. His scales were cool and smooth to the touch, sort of like a blade of grass.

She sat Soren on her lap, where she could pet him and finally ease some of her burning curiosity about him. He stiffened for a moment, apparently not accustomed to this sort of affection, but he soon relaxed into her arms. As May continued to baby him, a faint humming sound emerged from his throat. It seemed to be a content noise, so she eagerly laid on the petting.

The doorknob jingled, and Caroline pushed it open, keys in hand. She was smiling, but she had a tired look in her eyes from her busy day visiting with the Birches and other old friends from Littleroot. Vigoroth came trudging in behind her, a tub of something sweet smelling grasped in his claws.

"May, you should've come with me! Everyone was asking about you, and Mrs. Jenkins even baked us some brownies! It was- _May Maple, what is that?!_" Caroline cried, sapphire eyes widening as she pointed at Soren accusingly. He tensed in May's grasp.

"He's my treecko! Professor Birch gave him to me, and Dad already said it was okay!" May said defensively, tightening her grip on Soren. "I'm getting a trainer's license, and no one is going to stop me anymore!"

Caroline's jaw tightened, an obvious sign that she wanted to argue. However, instead of ordering May to get rid of the pokemon at once, she let out a defeated sigh. She moved to sit on the love seat, her shoulders slumping.

"I was hoping this could wait a week at least," Caroline said sadly. "But I guess that's not going to happen."

"You knew I was getting a pokemon?" May asked curiously, even as she realized that of course her mother knew. The real question was, why? Was the pokemon a gift in order to bribe May into liking Hoenn? If so, it had worked like a charm.

"Your father and I talked about it before he came here," Caroline explained. "I didn't want you to become a trainer, but he always has, and now that we're back here, he thinks it's the only option-"

The woman abruptly cut off her blubbering and put her head in her hands. May furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but she couldn't question her mother further when she was so upset about the whole situation. She needed her Dad. She needed his strength, but he wasn't here, and he probably wouldn't be until he finished setting up the gym or whatever it was that he had been doing for the past week.

"His name is Soren," May said, trying to change the subject. She didn't know what else to do when her mother, someone who had always comforted _her_, was the one who needed consoling.

Caroline looked up at the treecko with red-rimmed eyes. "That's a nice name, honey. Why don't we have some brownies?"

Vigoroth brought the tray to Caroline, allowing her to get one of the chocolaty treats first. He stopped when he got to May, staring Soren down with that mean look he was so good at. The normal type didn't seem very impressed with the puny treecko.

"Vig," he said grumpily, poking at Soren with one of his claws.

Soren smacked Vigoroth's hand away with his tail and glowered at him. Well, at least he didn't seem intimidated by bigger pokemon, although May wasn't sure that that was entirely a good thing. She took two brownies and told Vigoroth to go away before a fight could break out over her lap.

"Isn't Mrs. Jenkins that old lady with all the skitty?" May asked, handing a brownie to Soren. He sniffed it experimentally, never having eaten such a thing before, and then he took a hesitant bite.

"Treecko!" he cried, delighted. He munched happily on the brownie.

"Yes, honey," Caroline said, also chewing on her brownie.

May inspected her desert for any suspicious pink hairs, but she found none. Shrugging, she pulled off a piece and plopped it into her mouth, allowing the chocolaty goodness to reward her taste buds. Mrs. Jenkins may have been a bit odd, but she could make a tasty brownie.

Soren tapped on her arm and pointed towards the tub of brownies. Brown crumbs lined his mouth, and May giggled. "Sorry, Soren. Too much isn't good for you," she said. However, she still couldn't help but hand him the last bite of her own brownie.

"So mom…" May began, trying to broach the subject delicately. "Are there any good places around here to shop? You know, for trainers' clothes and other stuff?"

"Not at all," Caroline said. May groaned. "Which is why we already bought your stuff. Your dad took care of all the supplies, and he picked out the best brand for your clothes. I picked out the style."

May grinned. She almost squeezed Soren to death in her excitement, but he let out an angry cry, causing her to loosen her grip immediately. All she could think of was that the only thing left was her trainers' license. In two days when Professor Birch gave them to her, her own pokemon journey could actually begin!

* * *

><p>"So what moves do you know, other than pound?" May asked Soren the next day. It was mid afternoon, and the girl was seated cross-legged in her yard. The grass continuously itched her exposed legs, but with Soren around, the urge to go outside into the fresh air was irrepressible.<p>

Soren stood up from where he had been rolling around on the lawn for what May assumed was a demonstration. He stood still, staring at his trainer with a gaze so intense she began to wonder what she had done to tick him off. Slowly, his eyes began glowing an eerie yellow. May shuddered involuntarily until they faded back to their normal shade of gold.

"Hmm. So leer then?" she guessed.

"Tree!" He nodded.

"Okay. Is that all, or do you know anything else?" May asked, curiously.

"Treecko, tree!" Soren cried, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

"Hey, I was just asking!"

The treecko still looked offended, but he huffed and closed his eyes in deep concentration. His skin cast a white light off of it, and a small circle of grass below where he stood did the same. Soren's face became a little strained, but he managed to draw glowing orbs of energy from the grass into his body. As the light left the grass, it wilted slightly.

"Wow, you really did a number on that big bad grass," May joked, although she was glad to see that Soren already knew at least one grass type move. Absorb might just come in handy.

Soren glared at her again and ripped some grass out of the ground to throw it at her. The blades floated down and landed harmlessly on May's knee, and she laughed. Soren's face tinted pink, causing her to laugh harder. He grumpily crossed his arms, sticking his nose in the air. May flicked some of the grass back in his direction.

"Hello, May! Hello, there, Treecko!" a familiar voice called jovially. Professor Birch was approaching the pair, notebook in hand and satchel slung over his shoulder. He smiled as he watched them, but he glanced at May questioningly. "If that's what you're still calling him, that is."

Soren waved in greeting, while May said, "Hi! And his name is Soren."

"I see that you two are becoming friends already," Professor Birch said, still smiling. "Say, uh, May? How would you care to do me another favor?"

May glanced up curiously, and Soren cocked his head slightly to the left. After he had given her a pokemon, it wasn't like she was about to say no. "Sure, Professor. What is it?"

"Great! My son, Brendan, is just outside of town doing some fieldwork for me, and I was wondering if you might go fetch him with that treecko of yours?" Professor Birch asked, a pleading expression on his face.

May wanted to groan and deny his request right away. Out of all the things he could ask her to do, why in Suicune's name did it have to involve Brendan? If he was so close, why couldn't Professor Birch just grab him himself? Brendan was the last person she wanted to see, but she couldn't take back the offer now, especially after everything Professor Birch had done for her.

"Uh, I guess," May said reluctantly. Privately, she was still thinking, "_No, no, no! Don't make me do it!_"

"I appreciate it!" Professor Birch said, seeming like he appreciated it just a little _too_ much for such a trivial task. "He shouldn't be too hard to find, just look around Route 101! Oh, and I managed to complete your paper work early. You can stop by my lab afterwards with Brendan and pick up your license."

Feeling marginally more cheered by the fact that she could leave as soon as tomorrow, May stood and dusted the grass off of her shorts. Soren moved a bit closer to May, who smiled at Professor Birch and told him she would do as he said. The two of them started off towards the entrance of Littleroot, but thankfully, May actually had a pokemon to protect her now.

"Good luck," Professor Birch called to their retreating backs. May waved briefly to show that she had heard him.

With Soren, the woods seemed a lot less scary. The prospect of talking to Brendan, however, was even worse the second time around. May sighed and decided to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible.

"Why don't you sit on my shoulder? We'll go faster that way," she suggested to Soren. His tiny legs only allowed him to walk so fast.

Soren sulked about her calling him out on being a little slower for a moment, but he was a reasonable treecko. He nodded in acceptance. May started to bend down so that she could pick him up and place him there, but she quickly found her help to be unnecessary. Instead, Soren leapt around her hands and scampered straight up her body like it was a tree. He bypassed her shoulder and grasped at the top of her head with his hands.

"….Or just go sit in my hair," May said. She tried in vain to see the pokemon on her head, but to no avail. "Whatever's more comfortable for you."

"Treecko," Soren said smugly.

Surprisingly, May didn't have to search Route 101 for too long. Not far from the main path, she found Brendan hunched over near a tree. His ruby eyes were wide as he stared into its branches. Frantically, he scribbled notes messily in his notebook, barely even looking at what he wrote.

May stared at the oddity, perplexed, and Soren muttered something to himself. So not only was Brendan incredibly grouchy, he was also weird. Very weird.

Finally, she cleared her throat. Brendan froze, and slowly turned to face her. He relaxed when he saw her. To her annoyance, he simply turned back around and continued writing, albeit a bit more slowly than before.

"Oh, it's you," he said dismissively.

May's eye twitched. Did he really have to say it that way, as if she was the least important person on the planet? He would think unimportant when she beat him to a pulp in a battle (After a bit of practice, of course).

She wanted to bite his head off, but instead she asked, "What are you _doing_?"

"What's it look like?" Brendan shot back. "Fieldwork."

"On _what_? Trees?"

"No, stupid. On the wurmple," he said, actually taking his eyes off the plant to roll them at her.

May squinted at the tree, but nothing interesting caught her attention. Brendan sighed, noticing her struggle, and pointed up at the edge of one particular branch. She followed the motion and finally saw it. A small, fat, pink worm-like pokemon was perched on it, cheerfully dining on some leaves.

It was a bug.

May shuddered and automatically took a large step backwards. Creepy crawlies didn't bring back happy memories for her- she had been terrified of them since she was a little girl. Since she was five and had felt those disgusting legs against her skin, all over her.

Brendan was looking at her oddly, so May quickly calmed her breathing. Soren shifted in her hair, obviously sensing the change in mood as well. She gave Brendan a stop-looking-at-me-like-that stare, and he shrugged and turned away.

"Well that sounds really boring," May snapped, a bit defensively.

"It is sometimes," Brendan said, sounding surprisingly conversational. "My dad gave you a pokemon?"

"Yeah." May nodded. She fleetingly wondered how he already knew she didn't have one, unless it was just that obvious. "He wanted me to get you, by the way."

"Fine-" Brendan began, but he was interrupted by something big shuffling about through the nearby bushes. May tensed, and she could feel Soren stiffen on her shoulder.

The figure that emerged seemed vaguely humanoid, but May could quickly see that it had a set of brightly colored feathers and a pointed beak for a mouth. Whatever it was was a whole head and shoulders taller than her. As it stepped into the light, its striking red and tan plumage became visible, and it held something in its claws.

May didn't know what it was, but it looked scary.

"Blaziken," the pokemon said, approaching Brendan. He took a lazy bite out of the red berry in his claws, talking even as the juice ran down his beak.

Alarmed, May looked to Brendan for a sign of how to react. The boy was a Hoenn native, and regrettably, a more experienced trainer than May. Surely he would know what to do? However, Brendan seemed more annoyed than frightened. He glared at the blaziken.

"Orion," he said, moodily. "What are you doing? You know you always scare the pokemon here away!"

Brendan angrily waved his hands at the tree, but the wurmple was long gone. He groaned in frustration and stood up. He glared at both the bird-like pokemon, and even at May, who was merely an innocent bystander. Sort of.

"Blaze, blaziken!" Orion said, throwing his claws up like he just couldn't help what had been done.

"Thanks a lot," Brendan said, but his expression had already softened slightly. Did that scary thing actually belong to him?

May eyed Orion's strong set of legs, thinking that if he was one of Brendan's pokemon, maybe it would take more than a bit of traveling before she was ready to battle him. The blaziken looked powerful, so powerful that she thought he might even give Slaking a run for his money.

"Sorry, bud, but I'm going back to the lab now," Brendan said, inclining his head at May.

She stared, shocked, as Orion spotted her and waved one clawed hand at her in greeting. May waved meekly back, but Orion quickly disappeared in a flash of red light. Brendan placed his pokeball back on his belt, in line with four others, and nodded at May.

"Let's go," he said, but all May could think about was what other pokemon that Brendan might possibly have to compete with that blaziken.

They traveled back to Littleroot in awkward silence. May was somewhat relieved that they weren't arguing or otherwise insulting each other, but this wasn't much of an improvement. Finally, Brendan broke the silence with a sigh.

"Look, I didn't mean to be so rude yesterday. I just…" he began uncomfortably. May looked at him in surprise. She could tell by the slightly reluctant look on his face that he didn't really like apologizing. "… I just don't like people snooping in my stuff."

"_You should be sorry,"_ May thought, irritably.

"Hmph," she said, crossing her arms. "I guess I can let it slide."

Brendan raised one jet-black eyebrow at her. "Oh, thanks so much," he said sarcastically.

May looked at his disbelieving expression out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but crack a tiny smile. Seeing this, Brendan let out a snort of laughter. Her smile grew slightly wider as she struggled contain a giggle of her own.

"Tree," Soren said dully from atop her head. He sounded disgusted.

"Sourpuss," May said, reaching up to poke him. She couldn't see where she was prodding, so she really hoped it wasn't something delicate, like his eye.

The silence sunk in again after that, although it was decidedly less awkward. Once they were back in Littleroot, May allowed Brendan to lead her to Professor Birch's lab. His guidance was not really needed, seeing as the lab was the largest building in the entire town (And there was a sign), but since Brendan's presence was sort of important too, she didn't say anything.

"Dad," Brendan called, as he pushed open the glass doors of the lab. He held one of them open long enough for May to walk through before letting it swing shut.

"_Wow, at least he has one redeemable quality,"_ May thought jokingly to herself.

The buzzing of countless machines filled May's ears, and several people in lab coats ran around like pidgey with their heads cut off. None of them was Professor Birch, and no one spared she and Brendan a second glance. The place was so disorganized; May thought Lisa Birch might have an aneurism if she ever visited it.

Brendan shook his head in annoyance and motioned for May to follow him. He led her down a long hallway, bypassing several closed doors, and finally shoved open one with a Professor Robert J. Birch nameplate. Hesitantly, May followed him inside.

Professor Birch sat at a desk with papers strewn all around him. He was writing something down on an official looking form, but when he spotted them, he tossed the paper aside into the mass of other junk. May didn't know how he ever hoped to find it again.

"May, you found him! Thanks," Professor Birch said. He glanced from Brendan, to May, to Soren, grinning widely all the while. May shuffled from foot to foot uneasily.

"So Dad, what did you need me for?" Brendan asked, seeming a bit annoyed that his father hadn't jumped straight to the point.

"Oh, you know. Just curious about that fieldwork I sent you out to do," Professor Birch babbled, holding his hand out for Brendan's notebook.

Brendan stared hard at his father. Slowly, he handed him the notebook, but when Professor Birch took it, he just threw it aside on his desk like it meant nothing. The man leaned forward on his elbows eagerly, and May worried Brendan might explode.

"So, May," he said. "I have all of your papers submitted! You can officially start your pokemon journey!"

She wondered if she would have to wait all night to get her license, given the mess. However, he simply pulled open a drawer and handed her a sleek red device out of it. May stared at it in awe, all concerns about Brendan's temper fleeing her mind. Professor Birch had registered her license on a pokedex? But they were so rare, and expensive!

"Oh my gosh, you-"

"It was no problem, I assure you!" Professor Birch cut her off. His eyes darted quickly to Brendan, and then back to her again. He winked. "As a professor, I find them a bit easier to come by than most people. It should help you learn the pokemon of Hoenn."

May thought that would be it, but he continued.

"Hoenn is quite the dangerous place for someone so inexperienced in its ways. I bet your parents would be so much more comfortable if you knew the region better. Or even if you just had someone more experienced to-"

Brendan brought a fist down on the desk, and May's gaze shot to him in shock. He glared at his father, his eyes alight with cold fury. He was so mad that May couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, even though she knew he wouldn't actually hurt her or anything.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Brendan ground out, practically shaking with anger. "I'm _not _doing it again."

Before Professor Birch could respond, he spun on his heel and headed straight for the door out of his father's office. He made sure to slam it on his way out. May flinched slightly at the loud sound, and Soren pulled too tightly on her hair.

Unlike May, Professor Birch didn't seem very surprised. Instead, he slumped in his seat and began massaging his temples as if he had a terrible headache. She waited for him to speak, to try to explain what had just happened, but he never did.

"What-what just happened?" May asked eventually. She couldn't help but feel a bit hurt. Brendan had been acting kind of nice towards her, but one dropped hint from his father about traveling with her, and he had acted like it was most repulsive idea in the world.

Professor Birch sighed sadly. "It's not because of you, May. Please don't hold it against him. He wasn't always like this, and he's really still a great kid most of the time."

"What do you mean?" she questioned, wrinkling her face in confusion.

"Well, it's not that simple, but if I get straight to the point," Professor Birch began. He adopted the expression of someone speaking of a forbidden subject, just as Noah and Lisa had done at lunch the day before. May couldn't help but lean forward in anticipation.

"Brendan started out a lot like you over two years ago; excited about pokemon training and ready to be the best he could be. And he actually got somewhere. He was better than the gym leaders, and many people became convinced he would be the next champion before he even turned fifteen."

"_Brendan?_" May said, taken aback. She knew Orion looked like a force to be reckoned with, but really, _Brendan?_ "But wait, what happened to him then?"

The professor opened his mouth to answer, looking downcast, but May couldn't stop herself from speaking.

"If he used to be that powerful, then why does he sit around and stare at trees all day?" she blurted. If she was that strong, she would be champion by now! What was _wrong _with that boy? Realizing how bad her comment had sounded, May tried to correct herself. "No offense. But why did he stop training?"

Professor Birch stared at her with sad eyes. He didn't even look bothered by her blabbering.

"It lost him a best friend."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I had a feeling no one would guess May's pokemon, which is the main reason I chose him! Personally, I usually do envision May with a Torchic, but I wanted this story to be different from the hundreds of other Hoenn fics out there.

**I added a new poll to my profile** regarding Maxie in this story, and I would really appreciate it if you would throw in your opinion! It should be a way for you guys to get involved, and Archie will have a poll as well in a few weeks. If there's any pokemon you want me to add to the poll, feel free to tell me and I'll do it straight away!

I would love to hear some reviews from you guys, as always.


	4. Chapter 3: Best of Luck

Thank you for the reviews and votes! The poll is still open, so if you want your opinion heard, get to voting! Rhyperior and camerupt (Who I would include even if he had zero votes. It's his signature!) are tied for the lead, but it's really close all around.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Best of Luck<strong>

May couldn't help but admire herself in the mirror.

She wore a sleek, red tank top with a black collar. Her shorts were white, although she had black spandex underneath to prevent them from riding up. New yellow tennis shoes fit comfortably over her feet, and May could tell they were expensive just by the official league logos on the tag. It was all expensive, and absolutely perfect for traveling in the tropics of the Hoenn region.

Along with her new trainer outfit, Norman had purchased her a backpack that was specially designed to make everything it contained feel as light as possible. She could only bring the necessities, and she knew she would be severely lacking many feminine novelties (Such as countless outfits or a ton of makeup) during the weeks on the road. Her parents had, however, filled her backpack with numerous traveling goods, from potions to Pokechow to some rice for her to attempt cooking with. Attempt being the key word.

May felt so… professional.

Yet there was something missing. She peered more closely at her reflection, trying to figure out what was wrong. Her outfit was awesome, but it needed more… what? Character?

It didn't take May long to figure out how to fix the problem. She ran over to the very back of her closet, pushing aside her mass of clothing to find what she was looking for. A small cardboard box lay in the floor, one of the few she had yet to unpack. She shuffled through various childhood mementos before finding what she was searching for.

May smiled as she grasped the worn red cloth of her old bandana in her fingers. She went back to the mirror and placed it on her head the classic way she used to wear it when she was a little girl, so that it covered her hair like a hat. Unfortunately, May wrinkled her nose at once. She looked like a ten-year-old boy; no way was she wearing it that way.

She debated on what to do briefly before folding the bandana up into a thin line and tying it, headband style. After shifting the bow so that it was perfectly centered on her head and helping her brown hair fall just right, she was satisfied. May grinned.

"_Perfect," _she thought victoriously.

Downstairs, Caroline waited for her. She kept going through May's backpack, even though they had both checked it a dozen times that morning and the night before. The woman's hands were shaking lightly.

"Mom," May said, meaningfully.

Caroline let out a deep, shuddering sigh. "Oh. I guess it's time for you to leave now, isn't it?" She forced a smile.

May stepped forward and hugged her tightly. She had always envisioned her father being there when she left on her journey. In her imagination, he would be the final one seeing her off, probably giving her priceless last minute tips. Instead, she had to go meet him, and she was left with only her mother.

"Bye," May whispered. She slung her backpack over her shoulders, and raising her voice, she yelled, "Soren, come on!"

Soren emerged from the kitchen, where he had been picking through his last minute breakfast of Pokechow. Seeing his trainer, he ran over to her and darted up to rest comfortably on her shoulder. His yellow eyes narrowed in dislike when Vigoroth's hulking form followed him into the living room.

"Vig!" the normal type cried, outraged.

"Sorry, Vigoroth. I almost forgot you," May said, laughing as she gave him a parting pat on the head. He had been getting more and more antsy since they had settled into their home. If Norman knew what was good for him, he'd pick up the pokemon sooner rather than later.

"Please be careful, May," Caroline said seriously. "Make sure you don't trust just anyone, and go to your father as soon as you reach Petalburg City."

May's hand froze against the doorknob. "I will," she promised, perplexed.

She shook off the weirdness of her mother's words when she entered the cool morning air. It was incredibly early, barely past dawn. There was one more place she felt she had to visit before officially leaving, if only it wasn't _too_ early.

Her worries were for nothing, she realized. The Birch's kitchen light was on, so someone had to be awake. Hopefully that included the one Birch she was looking for.

She walked past their perfect rose gardens and knocked on the door. Several seconds passed with no one answering, although she was sure she could hear someone moving around inside. Soren shifted on her shoulder, glancing at her questioningly.

"I need to talk to Brendan," May said in a hushed voice. "You heard what the professor said- his pokemon died! He can't keep blaming himself. Maybe he'll feel better if he gets out of here."

"Treecko, tree…" Soren said, sounding doubtful.

"It'll be fine." She hoped.

May didn't know under which circumstances or even which pokemon of Brendan's had passed away. All she knew was that it had happened nearly two years ago, and that Brendan had never forgiven himself. She doubted her talking to him would help, but she would feel better if she at least tried, especially after thinking so badly of him earlier.

Just when she was deciding she might as well leave, the door swung open to reveal Lisa Birch. The woman was still in her nightgown, but she looked as if she had already been awake for a while. She blinked at May.

"Oh… May. Hi! Is everything okay, dear?" Lisa asked. Obviously May was one of the last people she expected to show up randomly on her doorstep.

Faced with the reality of explaining her situation to Lisa, May fully realized how awkward and weird it really was. "Um… I-I… I'm leaving to travel today, and I was just wondering if your son- Brendan, not Noah- is home. Well, I guess he's home, because it's six a.m., but can I just see him really fast?"

If anything, Lisa seemed even more surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry, May, but Brendan just left a few minutes ago. I think he's running an errand for his father."

"Oh," May said blankly. "Okay then. Well you can just tell him- wait, actually, you don't have to tell him I stopped by. Sorry for bothering you."

"Okay, dear. I hope you have a nice time," Lisa said, uncertainly closing the door.

"Well that wasn't what I was expecting," May remarked. She went back down the pristine walkway, and Soren began making strange choking noises. It took her a moment to realize that he was laughing. "Hey! It's not funny- Oof."

She collided with something warm and firm when she turned the corner around the house. Tilting her head up, May's sapphire eyes met a pair of curious brown ones. Brendan raised his eyebrows at her, but he didn't look angry. Yet.

He smoothed out his shirt and moved away for the sake of personal space. "Why are you always in my way, Maple?" It wasn't a question, but more of a casual observation.

May huffed. "Well excuse me for looking for you."

"Oh? On the job this early? Well who needs me this time? Noah?" Brendan asked mockingly.

She had to take a moment to pause and forcibly remind herself that her point was to be _nice_ to Brendan this morning. Did he really have to make it so difficult? And awkward? Actually, everything was awkward with May, but Brendan only made it worse!

"Actually, I do," May said smartly. She then realized that sounded a bit strange, intensified by the odd look Brendan fixed on her. "I was just gonna say that you're welcome to come with me if you want too. Not because of your dad, just because you seem kind of bored. I guess."

May trailed off lamely. She anxiously watched Brendan's face for any sign that he was about to scream at her like he had his father yesterday, but none came. Instead, his lips only turned down in a slight frown, and he pointedly avoided her eyes.

"Uh, thanks, but no thanks."

She wasn't surprised at his answer, exactly, but she was caught off guard by how rejected she felt. Maybe Brendan didn't really need someone to talk to after all. Maybe he was happy following in his father's footsteps, letting his so called potential waste away.

"Okay…" May didn't know what else to say, so she turned to leave. She could see the Littleroot sign in the distance. Her future was out there, with or without Brendan.

"Wait," Brendan called, just before she was out of earshot.

May stopped and looked back at him questioningly. Soren let out an impatient breath, but she shushed him. Brendan hesitated.

"Good luck," he said finally, bitterly.

Disappointment washed over May. Still, she smiled a tiny smile at the boy and nodded. She had a long road ahead of her, and she had a sinking feeling she would need all the luck she could get.

* * *

><p>Brendan lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.<p>

His pokeball belt rested on his desk, out of the way. Contrary to what it might seem, Brendan loved each and every one of his pokemon dearly. They were his best friends, and he held them in equal regard to his family members.

But he knew they were unhappy. They were fighters by heart, and they had been raised to love battling. Needless to say, such competition hadn't been a priority lately.

If Brendan was being honest, he was unhappy, too.

The door cracked open, but Brendan didn't bother looking to see who it was. It wasn't like he couldn't guess, anyway. His visitor didn't speak for a while.

"Brendan Birch." It was his mother's voice. His eyes flitted to her form, perched against his doorframe. She was staring at him sadly, with that look he despised so much.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Laying. Moping. _Remembering_. Brendan was doing a lot of things.

"Nothing," he said instead.

"That's exactly the problem," she said, more sharply than he had expected. Her attitude was so unexpected that he couldn't help but sit up and stare at her. He had been waiting on another pity party.

"That girl has no idea what to expect out there. You learned the hard way," his mother said, so bluntly that it brought fresh pain rushing back to Brendan's chest. "Do you want the same thing to happen to her?"

"No-"

"I'm tired of you sitting around like this, every day. You're miserable, and you're living in the past. It wasn't even your fault," she bit out. He could see tears in her eyes. "I want my son back."

And Brendan sat, staring open mouthed like a helpless magikarp, as she disappeared back behind his closed door.

* * *

><p>Oldale Town was planted in the middle of an expansive grassy clearing of rolling hills. Occasional pastures of strange yellow pokemon dotted the fields. The houses all had wide, rustic porches, and they were spaced widely apart from one another. If not for the presence of a pokemon center and pokemart, it would have seemed even more backwoods than Littleroot Town did.<p>

Thankfully, with the limited number of buildings, May was able to spot the trademark red roof of the pokemon center with relative ease. She trudged tiredly towards it, hoping there was a room available for the night. Although she had managed to make it to Oldale from Littleroot long before dark (With lots of help from her new Hoenn Map), her feet were already beginning to ache, and she was wishing she had been a bit more physically active back in Azalea Town.

Soren had perched himself on her head again, and every once in a while he would start to nod off before rapidly shaking himself back awake. May had yet to battle another trainer, and he had only had to warn away a couple of bold poochyena during the walk to Oldale Town. Because of this, she suspected his sleepiness had a lot more to do with pure boredom than actual exhaustion.

A few elderly people stood outside in their gardens as May passed by their houses, watering their growing vegetables or handing hay to their weird pokemon. Many of them did double takes before cheerfully waving at her. It was painfully obvious that not too many travelers passed through the small town.

May was very relieved to finally reach the pokemon center. The faint smell of medicine hit her as she walked in, but she couldn't complain. A scant few number of trainers lingered about the lobby, and she suspected that most of them were locals just having their pokemon checked up on, or even just looking for something to do. Only one nurse worked the reception counter.

"Hello, and welcome to the Oldale Pokemon Center. How can I help you?" the woman asked, smiling up at May.

"Can I reserve a room for tonight? It's just me and my treecko," May said. Soren was perfectly fine, so she didn't want to waste time (Her own, or that of the nurse) with a checkup.

"Sure," the nurse chirped. She typed in a few quick things on her computer before hunting out a worn bronze card key. She offered it up to May. "There you go! There's a cafeteria through that door if you get hungry, and the lounge is a popular place for our trainers to gather."

May thanked her and headed towards her room to get settled in. As she passed by the lounge, she accidentally caught eyes with a teenage boy with stringy brown hair and glasses. He held her gaze for an uncomfortably long moment, so she sped up her pace and avoided further eye contact. Suddenly, she wished that Brendan had come with her, at least for the sake of a familiar face.

May shook off the thought and glanced at her card key, seeing that her assigned room number was _02_. It wasn't hard to figure out why she had gotten such a low number when she reached the overnight wing and saw that there were only two doors total. The room that didn't belong to her was predictably labeled _01_.

"Alrighty then," May said. Soren snorted into her hair, and she reached up to ward his face away with her hands. "Hey, gross!"

"Tree!" he cried, leaping from her head and landing cleanly on his feet. He glared at her.

May shook her head at his gal and unlocked her door. The room was small and packed full with the two bunk beds that sat shoved up against opposite walls. There was such an insignificant amount of space in between them that May doubted she would be able to fully stretch her body out on the floor without bumping into both beds, and she wasn't a tall girl. Another door led to an even tinier bathroom.

Sighing, May sat down on one of the bottom bunks, tossing her backpack behind her in a way that marked it as hers. None of the other beds were disturbed, making it obvious that she would be the only occupant in the room that night. Although she felt a bit lonely, she was more relieved that she wouldn't have to bunk with a total stranger.

Soren, at least, seemed to like the bunk beds. His drowsiness from before had evaporated completely, and he began leaping about both beds, clinging effortlessly to their posts in between jumps. May knew that in a large forest, his native home, he would be practically impossible to catch with all the available climbing space.

Since Soren was making something of his time, May decided to follow his lead. She kicked off her sweaty shoes and pulled out her Pokedex. Norman had taught May that in order to be a good trainer, one must know her opponents as well as her own pokemon, and she couldn't do that with her limited knowledge on Hoenn species.

May's face tightened in concentration as she flicked through the pages, refreshing herself on the basics of those pokemon. She was determined to make her father proud, so proud that he would know without a doubt he had made the right decision in finally allowing her to become a trainer. If that meant she had to return to studying, so what.

Soren had taken to napping at the foot of her bed and May's senses had gone dull from so much reading when a loud growl erupted from her stomach. She clutched at her belly sheepishly when it awoke Soren, who blinked up at her accusingly. Apparently, that granola bar for lunch hadn't been too filling.

May stretched and stood up, storing her Pokedex back in her bag. "Let's go eat, Soren," she said.

"Treecko," he said, not about to turn down a meal.

"But not much people food for you, Mr.," May said, tauntingly waving a small baggie of Pokechow in front of his nose. She closed the door behind them. "If we want to keep you in tip top battling shape you've got to eat this!"

"Treecko, tree," Soren protested, thumping his strong tail against the ground. After feeding him the brownies, May had been adamant that he continue eating actual pokemon food for the main portion of his meals. Of course, she had already weakened several times and slipped him something a little tastier.

May only made one wrong turn before finding the center cafeteria the nurse had told her about, and she wasn't surprised by what she found. Like everything else about Oldale Town, it was small, with only about five round tables for people to sit at. Several other trainers sat in clusters around the room, each of them chatting easily with their friends. May figured that since pokemon center food was known to be extremely affordable and Oldale had a noticeable shortage of restaurants, many locals chose to dine there.

The food line was very short, and it lacked a wide array of options. May reluctantly chose the best looking hot dog she could find and a tiny bag of Flamin' Hot Growlios, her favorite snack chips. At least those were the same in Hoenn as they were in Johto!

She paid the chansey at the end of the line, grateful that the food was cheap. Her parents had supplied her with only a couple thousand pokedollars, and she wanted to make sure it lasted for as long as possible. Unfortunately, the part after paying was the worst.

Everyone else in the lunchroom had friends to sit with. More than any of the others, one table of teenagers lowered May's spirits. They sat with their attention focused on a pretty black haired girl, listening to what she said intently. A zigzagoon sat on her lap, which was covered in a fancy skirt. May knew that despite the pokemon, that girl was definitely no traveling trainer.

But at least she wasn't by herself.

Glumly, May started towards the empty table in the corner. As she made to sit down, her feet got tangled up and she stumbled forward. Her tray knocked against the side of the table so hard that she barely managed to keep the contents from spilling out all over the floor.

The other people hushed and looked at her.

May turned scarlet. "It's okay, I'm okay!" she said quickly, holding her hands up as if that further proved her point.

Most of the diners returned to their own business, but May heard the table full of teenagers sniggering obnoxiously to themselves. It was in that type of way that was sort of quiet, but was still loud enough so that it was obvious they were mocking her. The ringleader was the black haired girl.

Humiliated and annoyed, May took her seat and picked at the slightly stale bun of her hotdog. Soren watched her with concern as she went on to pour his Pokechow into a small disposable bowl, her hands shaking with anger, embarrassment, or both. The laughter of the other trainers rang up again in the background, and he turned to shoot them a furious glower.

May doubted they even noticed him, but she appreciated the effort.

"Tree?" he asked.

"It's fine," she said, trying to make herself sound more upbeat about the whole thing than she really was. "It doesn't matter anyway. Hey, want to try a Growlio?"

Soren sniffed the proffered snack, but then recoiled in disgust when the spicy seasoning crept up his nose. He looked at her like she was insane for even suggesting he eat something like that. Shrugging, May ate it instead.

"You're missing out," she said teasingly.

"Missing out on what?"

May jumped and nearly stuck her elbow in her plate, an action that made her grateful she had passed on the soup. The nerdy looking guy from before stood over her table, holding his own tray and eagerly eyeing the empty seat across from May. His glasses glinted creepily.

"Uh, nothing," May said quickly, laughing awkwardly. "You're definitely not missing out on anything over here, not at all!"

Soren slapped himself in the forehead, hard.

Instead of leaving in search of a more 'fun' table, the boy sat down. "I'm Quentin," he said, smiling hugely at her.

"Hi, Quentin," May said uncomfortably. He stared at her expectantly, and she realized she was supposed to offer up her name, too. "Oh! I'm May."

Quentin then noticed Soren. He poked experimentally at the pokemon's tail with the end of his fork, but Soren growled and 'accidentally' smashed his hand up against the table with said tail. Quentin winced and clutched at his crushed fingers, taking the hint.

"Ouch," he said. "So you have a treecko. Awesome, they're _really _rare. In fact, I was surveying some peculiar footprints outside earlier, and I thought they might've belonged to a sceptile, but then… Never mind."

"Um, yeah."

The boy pulled at his collar nervously. "So, uh, is that the only pokemon you have?"

May nodded. She took a large bite of her hotdog, hoping Quentin would get the message and stop talking to her. But of course, she could never be that lucky!

"I'm surprised you don't have a magnemite," Quentin said, leading off his sentence suggestively.

Despite her better judgment, May raised her eyebrows and forced down her chunk of hot dog. "Why?"

Quentin pointed at her and winked awkwardly. "Because I have one, and boy am I attracted to you!"

She stared at him disbelievingly, quickly feeling herself grow more annoyed than freaked out. Apparently, the emotion showed clearly on her face, for Quentin fidgeted in his seat. He rubbed at the back of his head and faked a laugh, as if that would ease the tension.

"Really?" May said sharply. Soren watched Quentin squirm with obvious delight.

Finally, the boy cracked. "Sorry. Never mind."

Satisfied that she had scared him off, May tried returning to her meal. She was almost finished when a tap on her shoulder interrupted her. Surprised, she turned in her seat to face two other guys. They were younger than her, probably around twelve or thirteen, and they looked at her with a type of excitement that was entirely different than Quentin's had been.

"Sorry to bother you, but we were just wondering if that was a treecko," one of them said, pointing at Soren with interest.

"We saw him from our table a minute ago and we just had to ask," the other chimed in. It was then that May realized that they had been sitting at the previously laughing table, which soured her attitude towards them a bit.

"Yeah, he's a treecko," she said, not sounding very welcoming.

Her tone didn't deter the boys.

"Awesome! I've never seen one! Actually, we barely see anything interesting out here," one cried. He rolled his eyes, thinking back on something unpleasant. "The best thing we've got is Tiana and her zigzagoon, and believe me, we've heard about that plenty."

They asked if they could touch Soren, and May hesitantly told them that they could. The boys _seemed_ nice enough, at least. On the plus side, their presence made Quentin quiet down, and Soren seemed to enjoy the praise.

"_Ahem," _a feminine voice cleared its throat.

The boys, including Quentin, paused and stared behind May with slight fear.

"Tiana! H-hey. What are you doing over here?" one of the younger boys asked nervously.

May recognized this Tiana immediately from before. With her perfectly curled black hair, flawless makeup, and designer clothes, it was obvious that this girl was _the_ girl of Oldale. She held her zigzagoon against her chest prissily, and upon closer inspection, May could see that its stripes were tinted golden, unlike the duller brown of most of its species.

"Am I not _welcome_ here, Allen?" Tiana asked, pulling one side of her pink lips back into a snooty expression.

The boy, Allen, quickly shook his head. "Of course you are! My bad!"

Accepting Allen's answer, Tiana turned to Quentin and the other boy. They cowered under her look. "And what about you two dweebs? Am I not good enough for you, either?"

Quentin nodded rapidly, but the other one kept quiet too long for Tiana's liking. "Rick!" she snapped.

"Sorry, Tiana, but I was just looking at her treecko. They can become really powerful, and they're rare on top of that."

Slowly, Tiana turned her heated look to May. "Oh?" she asked, too lightly.

"_Her outfit isn't even _that _cute," _May thought critically, disliking the girl even more by the minute. She crossed her arms and glared back at her.

"It's definitely not any better than my Zoe," Tiana said. She smiled smugly at May, as if she owned the world, and adjusted the arm holding her zigzagoon. The pokemon blinked at the two trainers and flattened her ears uncertainly.

"Soren happens to be wonderful," May said stiffly. She could feel her temper rising like lava in a volcano.

"Really? Look at those twig legs," the other girl said, pointing at Soren. He cried out, highly offended, but she wasn't finished yet. "And that dry scaly skin. Yuck!"

Quentin, Allen, and Rick glanced anxiously between the two girls, practically quivering in fear. Actually, everyone in the cafeteria was watching them now, but May was beyond caring. She stood up furiously.

"Yes, really!" May yelled, jabbing a finger into Tiana's chest. Ignoring her startled gasp, she continued. "And he could beat your prissy little zigzagoon to a pulp any day! In fact, he can do it right now! I challenge you to a battle!"

Shocked whispers filled the room, and Tiana narrowed her eyes furiously at May. She smirked. "Fine, loser. Let's take this outside."

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, May stood outside the pokemon center across from Tiana. Soren was in front of May, squared off against her special zigzagoon, Zoe. A small crowd had gathered around them, for everyone had followed them from the cafeteria in eagerness to see their battle.<p>

Although May's temper still very actively flared, it had had time to simmer a bit, allowing her to feel a bit of nerves. She knew from practice back at her academy that she was a pretty good battler, and her dad had taught her a lot. However, this was a real life situation. She had only gotten Soren a couple of days ago, while Tina could've potentially had Zoe for years.

Knowing her worries would only get in her way, May cast them aside. Tiana turned from where she had been talking with some of her friends to stare at her tauntingly. The last thread of May's patience abruptly snapped.

"Get her with pound, Soren!" May ordered.

Soren acted immediately, darting forwards at Zoe. Caught off guard by May's sudden start, the zigzagoon barely had time to react. She moved instinctively to avoid Soren, but he still managed to sweep her feet out from in under her with his tail. He then leap backwards and out of reach of Zoe's flailing claws.

A few people cheered, and others laughed as Zoe struggled to get back on her feet. Tiana, however, fumed. "Knock him out with a tackle!" she screeched.

Zoe ran to Soren, surprisingly fast. Confident in his own abilities, Soren waited until the last second to step aside, but Zoe simultaneously curved with him. Her head hit him hard in the chest, her greater weight sending him tumbling.

Soren jumped back to his feet, widening his eyes and panting. May could tell he couldn't believe he had been hit. Before she could tell him to do anything else, Zoe was running for him again, wide open.

Zoe was fast, but May knew Soren was faster.

"Jump _over _her!" May said quickly, struggling to keep her head.

Just before Zoe rammed him again, Soren soared over her in an athletic front flip and landed on his feet like an Olympic gymnast. Presented with the wide-open target that was Zoe's back, Soren quickly spun around and hit her hard with his tail. However, she curved again as she had done before, leading him to get her on the side instead of the middle of her back.

May stared, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure Zoe out. Just as she began to realize that maybe Zoe _always _ran like that, in zigzags, the other pokemon abruptly fell over. She looked like she was in a dead faint. The crowd seemed every bit as confused as May felt.

Blinking in surprise, Soren cautiously stepped towards her. She still didn't move, so he nudged her in the side experimentally. Nothing happened.

He looked at May, smiling at what he thought was a victory.

"Now, Zoe!" Tiana shouted suddenly, a wicked glint in her eye.

The zigzagoon suddenly came to life, leaping on Soren and easily pinning the much lighter pokemon to the ground. He struggled underneath her, but Zoe didn't budge. Tiana laughed meanly.

"See, what did I tell you?" she said. "How should we finish him off, Zoe? Let's make it good…"

May stared, mind running a mile a minute as she helplessly watched Soren's predicament. He was tiring fast, and despite all of his good points, she knew he didn't have much of a defense. He couldn't take another big hit, so she had to get him out of there, and fast.

"That was dirty, Tiana!" Quentin yelled from the sidelines. An odd expression crossed his face. "I'm surprised Zoe's not a fire type, because that's kind of-"

His voice was suddenly muffled by Allen and Rick, who both elbowed him simultaneously.

"How about a nice headbutt to the face?" Tiana called tauntingly. "That should do it."

"No!" May cried, as Zoe reared back. "Use leer, hurry!"

And Soren's eyes glowed a ghostly yellow, automatically freezing Zoe in her tracks. She gazed into them, distracted. Using this to his advantage, Soren smacked her in the face with his tiny green fist.

"Zig!" Zoe cried, shaking her muzzle from the sting. She made the mistake of lifting her weight off of Soren ever so slightly, which gave him just enough room to wiggle free. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly gave her another swift pound to the face, this time with his strong tail.

Zoe fell, for real this time. She struggled to rise, but the impact to the head probably left her vision swimming, causing her to quickly pass out. May stared at her, disbelieving.

She had done it. She had just won her first official battle as a trainer. Oh, she couldn't wait to tell her dad!

Most of the crowd cheered for May, while a few tried to console Tiana. The other girl was shrieking horrible things in the background as she was forced to recall Zoe, but May could care less. She ran forward and embraced Soren in a tight hug. He squirmed uncomfortably, but finally he gave in and just let her have her moment.

"You were awesome, Soren," May praised him. "Sorry I almost lost it there."

"Treecko." He shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

But it was kind of a big deal. Out of the two pokemon, Soren had clearly been the stronger one, plain and simple. However, May hated that most of the battle had depended on his natural ability and just _luck_ more than anything.

"Maybe tomorrow we can actually, you know, train," May suggested. Soren sighed, and she laughed at him, giving him an affectionate squeeze. "How about we get you that check up first, though?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> This chapter goes to all the creepers I've had for inspiring my take on the weird footprint guy (You know you've all had them, girls). I couldn't just leave him out! All of the characters May met are based loosely on actual characters in the game. I'll try to include other random NCPs that catch my eye as I go along, but if there are any you'd particularly like to see included, let me know!

To you naughty readers who aren't reviewing: remember, Santa's watching! XD And I've had a long week of finals (Which I probably did badly on because I was obsessing over this fic. Lol), so comments would be especially appreciated!

I think I'll start doing a question at the end of each chapter to open up more interactions with you guys. I love talking to my readers!

**May will catch her next pokemon at some point before battling Roxanne. Which one do you think it will be?**


	5. Chapter 4: Rough on the Road

Can I just say that I adore my reviewers? You guys rock :) I would be normal and thank you at the bottom, but it drives me crazy if I don't have something here because then my chapter title isn't centered. Crazy formatting doesn't mix well with my OCD!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Rough on the Road<strong>

"Ugh!" May exclaimed, crinkling the map in her hands. She had a burning desire to rip it into shreds. "I can't tell up from down on this stupid thing! How do people do this?!"

"Treecko, treecko tree!" Soren said into her ear.

May couldn't understand him, but she knew it was something snide and unhelpful. Fuming, she smacked him on the nose with the paper and chose to block out his outraged jabbering. Soren, realizing he was being ignored, jumped from May's head and rubbed at his snout. Unfortunately for the treecko, his trainer further avoided his hateful looks and crumpled the map back into the side pocket of her bag.

After leaving Oldale, their journey had become progressively more difficult and all around stressful. May had seen no reason to remain in the small town, so they had set out onto Route 102 early that morning (And managed to avoid the peculiar locals in the process). However, she had quickly found the path to be much longer and more confusing than the one to Oldale. The sun was setting in a few hours, and there was no way she would make it to Petalburg for another night in the pokemon center.

May was tired, she was hungry, and she couldn't even find a suitable way to train Soren! For some reason, she had always overlooked the actual _training_ part of being a trainer, instead thinking ahead to the glamorous battle victories. But now that she had reached that obstacle, she wasn't quite sure how to even go about it.

Her father, she knew, trained constantly. He had his pokemon lift weights, exercise, practice accuracy, and spar with one another in order to hone their skills in the most balanced way possible. Meanwhile, May had no professionally ordered weights, no other pokemon, and not a single range attack for Soren to practice his aim with! She couldn't even find another trainer to battle if she wanted to, and hunting down random wild pokemon to fight was simply a bigger hassle than it was worth.

May forced herself to stop and take a deep breath. "Okay, Soren. We're going to stop at the next good place we find, and we're going to get something done," she said, more for her own benefit than his.

She started walking in the general southwestern direction she knew she was supposed to head for, but Soren didn't budge. Feeling ticked, she spun back around, hands on her hip. Her lips pursed in her effort not to scowl.

"What's your problem?" May asked, trying to remain cool and collected. "Come on!"

"Tree," Soren grumbled, crossing his arms and turning his nose up at her.

"Soren!" May began to threaten to just put him in his pokeball, but she made herself stop. She reminded herself that a trainer had to get along with her pokemon, that everything was a two way street. With effort, she said, "Ugh. I'm sorry that I got mad at you. Will you_ please_ come with me?"

Soren turned one eye to her lazily and stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he inclined his head in agreement. May sighed in relief and began walking again, this time with Soren on her heels.

For the first time all day, luck was shining on their side, for the winding road May was following abruptly opened to a small clearing. Grass grew across the area in feather light tuffs, and a bubbling brook expanded to form a tiny pond off to the right. A few green, leaf like shapes floated idly across the water, and up close, it was clear that they were lotad.

May smiled, allowing her backpack to fall off her shoulders and onto the ground. "This is perfect! Thank goodness."

Happily, Soren ran over to lap up a few gulps of water from the pond. The lotad cried out in alarm at the sight of the strange pokemon and immediately dove underwater, sending a series of ripples across its surface. Soren sniggered lightly to himself and splashed some water in their general direction.

May rolled her eyes at the reemergence of her treecko's mean streak and began to observe the surroundings more critically. There were many trees perfect for target practice, but Soren had only learned physical attacks so far. Disappointed, she moved her attention elsewhere and found that several medium sized to large rocks lay around the pond.

Feeling the sparking of an idea, May gathered one in her arms and tossed it in front of Soren. He blinked at it questioningly, now thoroughly done tormenting the lotad.

"Can you break this with your pound attack?" May asked, pointing to the rock. It was about the size of a basketball, making it one of the larger ones.

"Treecko, tree!" Soren said, in a way that clearing meant "Of course I can, are you crazy?"

He reared back, muscles tensed in the way they always did before he performed a pound attack. His legs sprung slightly off the ground and he slammed his tail down, hard, into the rock. However, it didn't even budge, and Soren froze. His tail quivered.

Letting out a whimper, Soren abruptly stepped back to nurse his tail. He glared at the rock, at May, and even at the peaceful creek in the background. May bent down to peer more closely at him, eyebrows pushed together in concern.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you do that!" she said, fearfully. She reached out a hand as if to touch Soren's tail, but he quickly warded her away.

"Treecko!" he yelled, defensively. Obviously, his ego had sustained bruises far worse than his tail.

Soren shifted as if to try the technique again, but May stopped him. She tried to convince him that maybe they should move on to a different training exercise, that the rocks had been a bad idea, yet he would have none of it. Her stress level was quickly climbing again, and she made a mental note that she needed to capture another pokemon soon so Soren could just practice battle with it.

"But if you tire yourself out too much, I won't have anyone to protect me," May tried finally, after much arguing. If he didn't have to sacrifice his pride, then maybe she could talk some sense into him.

Soren hesitated, still not completely convinced.

"Why don't you at least practice on a smaller rock, just to be safe?" May pleaded.

He reluctantly agreed, settling on hitting a rock that was only half the size of the first one. With Soren hopefully no longer in danger of breaking any bones, May allowed herself to breathe a little easier. She shuffled through her backpack and pulled out a foot long package labeled "capsule tent". To her knowledge, the device worked rather like a pokeball, except that it obviously contained a tent instead of a live creature.

May hit another brick wall with the tent. Why were there so many _pieces,_ everywhere? She struggled to find poles that went together, scarcely able to keep everything she built from falling over as soon as she let go of it. She had been camping before, so she should be able to do this!

Okay, so it had been once in her backyard when she was seven, and her dad had sort of pitched the tent. But she had watched!

May battled with the tent for nearly an hour, grumbling under her breath all the while. Occasionally, she would stop and watch Soren for a moment so that she could suggest a new angle or a way for him to get more momentum. By the time she finally managed to assemble all the pieces of her troublesome tent, Soren's rock was practically in fragments.

"Good job," May mumbled tiredly as she collected several sticks to build a fire with. Temporarily done practicing his pound attack, Soren tried to help. His efforts weren't very beneficial, for his arms were too tiny to carry any significant amount of wood, but May didn't have the heart to tell him so.

Soren watched May expectantly as she aligned the branches just the way she wanted. To give him something else to work on, she grabbed some of the smaller sticks and jabbed them in the ground in a straight line, leaving a bit of space in between them. They roughly resembled the weaving poles present in pokemon agility competitions back in Johto.

"See how fast you can run through those," she suggested, grabbing some matches.

Soren took on his new task, and it proved to be much more natural to him than the first. He wove through the sticks with ease, and then went back to repeatedly try to increase his speed through them. After he finished a particularly fast round, May would smile and give him a thumbs up as she worked with the matches.

She managed to get a fire going with less difficulty than she had pitched the tent, and she then filled her small cooking pot up with water from the pond. The liquid sloshed about on her clothes as she walked, May being the klutz she was. She eventually got it boiling over the fire, and she stirred some rice around in it experimentally.

When May thought it might possibly be done, she called Soren over from his training to feed him a few scoops of Pokechow for supper. For herself, she poured the steaming rice into the cheap plastic bowl her mother had packed for her. Stomach rumbling impatiently, she blew on it before taking an eager bite.

"Oh…" May said, chewing on the rice slowly. It was kind of hard and dry, and just not at all like what her mom made. She glumly downed half the bowl before giving in and offering it to Soren.

"Treecko!" He shook his head vehemently at the food, and May narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ha ha, very funny," she said, dumping the rice into some nearby bushes. She spilt a bit along the way, paying little mind to it. Her hunger still wasn't fully sated, so she dug out a granola bar, her third of the day, and munched on it instead.

Darkness was quickly descending upon them, so May stood and stretched. The fire had fizzled out into only a few tiny glowing embers, which May knew would also grow cold within minutes. She rolled her sleeping bag out in her tent and padded the ground beneath it. It was distinctly hard, and she could feel several prominent pebbles in places that definitely wouldn't be feeling good on her back.

"Come on, Soren," May said uncertainly.

Soren scampered into the tent, curling into a ball next to where May's head would be resting shortly. She zipped the flap up after him and hesitantly lay down in her sleeping bag. Predictably, the ground was uneven and completely rough underneath her. It was even worse than the bed in the Oldale Pokemon Center!

Worse still were the noises of the night that fell upon the clearing. The creepy stillness caused memories to arise in May, memories she would much rather cast away into the deepest depths of her mind. All she could do was stare up at the colorless wall of the tent and clutch her flashlight tightly in her grip, ready to point it at anything that should manifest itself to her.

Soren lifted his head up, sensing her fear in the way that only a pokemon could. Humming quietly, he shifted himself more closely to May so that his reassuring warmth pressed up against her. She gratefully wrapped her arms around him and shut her eyes tightly, hoping for morning to come soon.

* * *

><p>May had been drifting in and out of a fitful sleep all night, and at first, she thought she had merely woken again because of that. However, her ears picked up on something moving outside. She stiffened, suddenly wide-awake.<p>

Beside her, she could see that Soren was already up and focused on the front side of the tent. Leaves and grass crunched as whatever it was outside moved about, and his eyes followed the sound. At once, the crunching stopped, and snuffling could be heard.

Instinctively, May realized that it was still night (Or very early in the morning). She groped about blindly for her flashlight, praying she didn't alert the strange creature or person that she knew it was there. Her fingers managed to latch onto the cylindrical body of the light, and she motioned subtly to Soren.

"Ko," he whispered, nodding.

Carefully, May peeled back the tent flap so that they could peek outside. Pure blackness met her vision, preventing her from seeing even a foot in front of her. Even so, the snuffling continued obliviously, seemingly coming from the general direction of where she had built her fire.

She flicked on her flashlight, swinging the beam of light in a wide arc around her. Her heart leapt into her throat when two spheres of light flashed back at her from the darkness, low to the ground. Eyes.

The owner of the eyes stopped moving and snarled at her. Soren pushed in front of her, yelling angrily, but May's mind was running a mile a minute. She recognized that sound by this point, and she was ready to capture the culprit! In her haste to get to her bag, she practically tripped over her own feet, but she soon found what she was looking for. Holding the pokeball tightly in one hand and the flashlight in another, May pointed her light directly at the aggressor.

The poochyena's fangs gleamed, and she could see white specks dotting the edges of its mouth; bits of rice. Its body was thin and scarred, overall in much worse shape than any of the other ones she had seen. Obviously, this poochyena had no pack and had resorted to pillaging human food any chance it got.

The pokemon quieted then, catching sight of the pokeball in May's grip. It yipped and quickly darted off into the darkness.

"Hey, wait!" May cried, stumbling halfway out of her tent after it. "I want to battle you!"

But her pleas fell uselessly to no response. Frustrated, May huffed and stomped back into her tent. After waking them up so rudely, the least that stupid poochyena could've done was let Soren get in a good whack or two!

* * *

><p>The next time May woke, it was to the pleasant chirps of taillow and the heat of the midmorning sun. Soren sat beside her, bored and flicking specks of dirt across the bottom of her tent. She had overslept, and judging by the sluggish feeling in her limbs, it was at least 10 a.m.<p>

"Tree, tree," Soren said accusingly. He walked pointedly towards the door of the tent and reached up to yank on the zipper. His three fingered hands struggled to grasp it briefly, but after a moment he managed to pull it down so that he could crawl outside.

May tiredly sat up, staring into space. Her brain was still slow from sleep, so she struggled to process the fact that maybe she should say something catty back to Soren. Just as she was beginning to think of an appropriate comeback, her pokemon's outraged voice floated into the tent.

Suddenly more aware of her surroundings, May shot up out of her sleeping bag and into the outside world. The sun blinded her briefly, so she shielded her eyes. However, even the abundance of light didn't prevent her from noticing what had gotten Soren so agitated.

Her treecko stood just a bit ahead of her, waving his arms wildly at a swarm of wurmple. The bug types were everywhere, crawling across the grass and sniffing around the singed wood from the night before. There was even a wurmple lounging halfway up the side of her tent.

May shrieked, loudly and uncharacteristically.

"Ohmygod, Soren, get them out of here!" she screamed, tripping and landing smack on her behind in her effort to flee from the bugs.

She was unfortunately near her tent, and the closest wurmple peered down curiously at her. "Wur?" it said, smiling in welcome.

"Ahhh!" May half leapt, half crawled away. She ended up near the center of her campsite, surrounded on all sides by the wurmple but not too close to any single one of them. Rocks scraped her legs, her pajamas were dirt stained, and her hair was everywhere, but she didn't care!

Soren stared at her in puzzlement, almost like he was worried his trainer had gone insane. He shook his head, doubtful, and he began talking loudly to the wurmple. They ignored him, happily nibbling at the leftover bits of rice May had left on the ground and chatting with one another.

Something pushed its way through the bushes then, and through her haze of fear, May made out the panting form of a boy.

"Are you okay?!" he questioned, panicked and completely short of breath. "May?"

It was Brendan. A sweatier, frightened looking Brendan with a pokeball ready in hand. However, as he took time to take in his surroundings, his posture relaxed. He stood up straighter, and his mouth dropped open in annoyed disbelief.

"_Seriously?_" Brendan said, but she could sense his relief even through his irritation. "I thought you were being mauled or something!"

"But-" May stuttered, pointing a shaky finger at the wurmple. She looked at Brendan with crazed sapphire eyes. "Pokemon keep attacking me!"

Brendan rolled his eyes. He exchanged the pokeball he had been holding for a different one, and tossed it in front of him. Orion's striking form materialized in a flash of white, and he cawed happily at May when he saw her.

"Get rid of these wurmple, will you?" Brendan grumbled to his pokemon.

Orion seemed perplexed by the entire situation, but he shrugged and held out his palm, which abruptly caught aflame. He roared threateningly at the wurmple, and they screamed and crawled away as speedily as their many legs would carry them. As soon as they disappeared, Orion's mean demeanor melted away to one of a happy-go-lucky schoolboy.

"Kin," the blaziken said, greeting Soren.

Instead of saying hello back, Soren crossed his arms and stared at the ground sulkily.

May wasn't very concerned with her pokemon's pride at the moment. Now that the wurmple had gone, embarrassment was beginning to seep in. She looked absolutely ridiculous, and of course, out of all the people in Hoenn, it was Brendan Birch to discover her that way.

Slowly, she climbed to her feet and attempted to fluff her hair into an acceptable position. Mustering all the remaining dignity she possessed, she said, "So. Um, thanks."

"No problem," Brendan said, a small smirk forming on his face. His annoyance was rapidly being replaced with an obvious amusement, and May didn't like it, not one bit.

"You've been on your own for what, two days?"

May's face reddened with both humiliation and anger. Thoughtlessly, she blurted, "Who said I was thanking you? Orion was the one who helped me out!"

She pointed her finger at Orion, who blinked at her, bewildered. Soren's face soured even more.

Brendan raised his hands in something akin to surrender, although she could still clearly see laughter in his eyes. "Sure he was. I was just gonna say that maybe you should, I don't know, _not_ throw out a feast for the all the wild pokemon next time?"

May scowled, because she couldn't really argue with that. It should've been common sense that scavengers would smell the leftovers and roam into her campsite. She was lucky it wasn't anything more dangerous, although she still shivered when she remembered the wurmple.

"Why are you even here, anyway? Are you _stalking_ me, now?" May accused, in an effort to shift the harassment to him. What she was saying didn't even make sense, because hadn't she been the one who had invited him to come with her in the first place?

Brendan coughed uncomfortably into his hand. "I was gonna look for you in Petalburg. I was… _Maybe_ reconsidering your offer."

Seeing the pleased, faintly knowing look growing on May's face, he straightened. "Of course, I ran off the road when I heard you shrieking like an angry zubat. Better be careful, or that treecko might go deaf!"

May fumed, struggling to come up with a clever comeback, and both pokemon watched with wide eyes in the background. Finally, she growled, "Oh, shut up!"

Awkward silence met them for a moment, but Brendan broke it with a sigh. "So does your offer still stand, or what?"

May stared at him for a while, eyebrows slightly raised. _"Oh, I hope he's sweating," _she thought gleefully, noticing an uncertain edge becoming his expression. Unfortunately, she could only keep her cool for a small amount of time, and her face cracked into a smile tinted with laughter.

"Hmm," she said, grinning. "I guess so. If I have too."

"I'm glad you're so thrilled to have me," Brendan remarked, sounding exasperated.

* * *

><p>Brendan never said what made him change his mind, but life with him was vastly different than life alone. Although May would rather bite her tongue off than admit it to him, it was a very good sort of different.<p>

Unlike May, who could hardly tell left from right, Brendan actually seemed to have a vague idea of where he was going. After throwing out a snide comment here or there about her lack of sense of direction, Brendan pulled out a high tech device (A Pokenav, he called it) with a map programmed on it. With only the occasional glance at it, he confidently chose a new path that he claimed would lead them strait to Petalburg within two days time at the most.

He also knew how to pitch a tent, although he didn't use one for himself, but he pointedly refused to set May's up for her at first. However, watching her struggle quickly became too painful for him to watch, and he strode over to her, yanking the poles from her hands.

"Just this once," he snapped after he had finished, tossing his own sleeping bag right onto the ground across the fire.

The fire was another hassle made easier with the addition of Brendan, because not only was he an experienced traveler, but his pokemon had their benefits as well. When she finally met his entire team, she couldn't help but feel a bit envious.

Orion was one of the most useful, or at least, he was when he wasn't wasting his time goofing off. Between taste testing the most suspicious looking fruits he could find and outrageously cartwheeling around May and Brendan, Orion would relent and help gather firewood in his strong arms. Best of all was the fact that May no longer had to bother with matches; Orion could get an inferno going with the laziest of flicks from his finger, which made May long for a fire type of her own.

Neptune and Acumi, Brendan's golduck and tropius, respectively, were also fabulous contributors in their own right. Neptune had a knack for chopping large branches with his claws, and he could somehow sense a stream from a mile away if he simply closed his eyes and concentrated. According to Brendan, it was a talent that most water types could develop if they were well trained enough.

Acumi was a subject of fascination for May. Over seven feet tall and oozing grace, the tropius was one of the most exotic creatures that she had ever laid eyes on. They hailed from only the densest, most tropical forests of the world, and Brendan told her that they were no common find, even in the hot Hoenn region. Other than Orion, she was the most approachable of Brendan's pokemon, and she often found eatable berries in obscure bushes and then plopped them straight into either human's lap.

May was considerably less fond of the remaining two from Brendan's team. Iris, a shelgon, was quite obviously one of the things her trainer was most proud of, which was revealed by the faint gleam in Brendan's eye when he described the harsh weeks he spent searching for her. The dragon type would growl affectionately at her trainer when he spoke to her, but whenever May passed, Iris would glower moodily from deep within her shell. She doubted the pokemon would hesitate to have her for a snack if Brendan were to turn his back.

Knox, Brendan's dusknoir, didn't bother with glaring at May or being rude to her in any way. Actually, he didn't do much of anything, really. Most of his time was spent floating creepily in the corner, staring into empty space. He also had a nasty habit of materializing out of nowhere, which had already brought May close to a heart attack at least six times. She was certain to have nightmares about it in the near future.

Soren took a bit longer than May to adjust to the additions to their group, more so to Brendan's pokemon than the boy himself. He would cling to May's side and pout whenever any of the pokemon, particularly Orion, did something to help out his trainer. However, the ice was broken on their second night camping as a group.

"Blaze, blaziken!" Orion said eagerly, dancing across the ground in front of Brendan.

"What now?" Brendan scowled, glancing briefly up at his blaziken.

He was already moody from having to pitch May's tent all by himself (Again), and now he was _attempting _to heat up some ramen. His brief lapse in focus allowed for the boiling water to bubble and splash up onto his finger. Brendan cursed, shaking his hand as if the entire appendage had just been amputated, and then he grumbled something grouchily to himself, refusing to watch Orion any longer.

May tried to hide her smile. She had temporarily given up on cooking, and she was pleased to see that at least Brendan wasn't any better at that than her. Instead, she had been flipping through pages on her pokedex again, having settled for a supper of some Oran berries Acumi had given her.

"It's okay, Orion," May said sweetly, glancing up from her screen. "_I'll _watch you."

Orion perked up at once, looking at her with shining blue eyes. Brendan gave her a look of death from over his cooking pot, but he was unable to hold it for too long without risking getting burned again. Soren huffed from his place resting against May's thigh.

"Kin!" Orion said, ignoring both Brendan and Soren.

He waved his arms and performed a handstand in the center of the clearing, eager to be the center of someone's attention. Unfortunately, in his hurry, one of his elbows seized up, and the loss of support caused the blaziken to topple loudly onto his back. Soren sniggered obnoxiously.

Orion leapt to his feet, feathers ruffled with dirt from the ground. He clapped his beak at Soren. "Blaziken!"

"Treecko, tree!" Soren said, sounding oddly snooty.

He stood, allowing himself a leisurely stretch before he moved to stand beside Orion. Soren smirked, and he abruptly flipped himself over to perch on his hands, his tail positioned carefully to help him balance. Orion narrowed his eyes, straightened his feathers, and then lifted himself into a second handstand, with a much more reliable grip this time.

"How sweet," Brendan said dryly. His brown eyes, tinted more red than ever in the firelight, never left his noodles. "They're bonding."

Bonding, indeed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> What? No new pokemon? I didn't SAY which chapter it was in. Just that it would be before Roxanne ;D

I know Brendan's other pokemon were introduced quickly, but I'll be sure to allow for plenty of scenes for them in the future (Orion already has some good ones coming up). The main focus will remain on May's team, however, because I already have a ton of characters as is. Anyway, this chapter was definitely fillerish, but these past couple of chapters have been important in cementing May's relationships with Soren and Brendan and for just setup in general. But rest assured, next chapter is much more eventful.

I'm officially on Christmas break, whoop whoop! Hopefully I'll get even further ahead on my chapters before next semester starts. Did anyone else notice that a TON of Hoenn fics were posted this week? It kind of makes me worried that I should've posted mine once ORAS had died down slightly, but it's too late now.

By the way, I'll be posting a holiday Kalosshipping oneshot within the week. Keep an eye out for it if you're interested! :) Reviews are nice, and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! (If you celebrate it).

**What's your all time favorite starter pokemon? **(I'm a cliché loser, so mine's charmander)


	6. Chapter 5: Pride and Promises

If I could give all of my reviewers a hug, I totally would. I love you guys! Actually, I love anyone who reads this, period, but my reviewers are particularly awesome.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Pride and Promises<strong>

"How much longer?" May asked, trying (And failing) to keep the whine out of her voice. She forced herself to increase her pace so that she was walking side by side with Brendan again; if she wasn't careful, it was so very easy to lag behind him.

Brendan adjusted his backpack straps impatiently, although he did not get out his Pokenav. "I told you, we should be there any time now. It sort of pops up out of no where-"

Pop up out of nowhere it did. As they rounded the last bend of the thin tree line, the unmistakable form of a city came into view.

Unlike most large human settlements, Petalburg was not filled with skyscrapers, nor was the land hugely overrun with roads or concrete. Instead, long, flat buildings lay stretched out across a wide area, far enough apart to allow for breathing space, but close enough together for people to walk to any destination with ease. Only necessary areas were paved, which made as much room as possible for trees and grass to grow naturally.

Even from their distance, May could see that a single building towered over all the rest. Large and tan, located at the peak of the city, it was built in the simple form of a classic fighting dojo. She knew without a doubt that it had to be the Petalburg Gym, a thought that brought her walking to a halt.

Glad to have reached the city, Brendan continued forward, but he stopped when he realized he was no longer being followed. He eyed May as if she was having mental problems, something he had done at least three times a day since meeting up with her.

"What's wrong with you? Come on!"

Nerves were suddenly eating away at May's stomach. She had been excited to see her father, because no matter how angry he had made her about the move, she was and always had been a daddy's girl. For days, she had been anxious for the moment she could show him that she was now a trainer, just like him.

But what if he thought she wasn't good enough?

May shook her head. He wouldn't think that; he would be proud of her, even if all she had was a magikarp!

"Nothing," she said, catching up with Brendan. As they neared the edge of the city, she asked, "Where should we go first? The pokemon center?"

Earlier in the day, the closer vicinity to the city had brought them into contact with a couple other trainers. Brendan had nudged May forwards each time to battle them, saying she could do with the practice. He never so much as lifted a finger for one of his own pokeballs, but May wisely kept her mouth shut, deciding maybe his battling was a topic to broach at a later date. Besides, she _did _need practice, and she and Soren managed to defeat everyone except for one boy with a particularly resilient taillow. As for her treecko, he was currently taking a well-deserved rest in his pokeball, and she figured he could also do with a check up at the center.

"The gym," Brendan said instead, in a 'duh' kind of voice. "Don't you want to figure out when to schedule a match?"

"What?!" May cried, stopping dead again. Her voice took on a slightly hysterical note. "Battle _my dad?_ Are you crazy? We won't stand a chance!"

"You're the one who told me you wanted to challenge the Hoenn League," Brendan said irritably. "Because Norman's a gym leader now, and daddy or not, you have to beat him to get there."

"But he's unbeatable!" May argued, biting her lip anxiously. Brendan just didn't understand! She was sure that if he were told he had to face off with _his_ father in a pokemon trivia or something else professor-y, he would feel the same way!

Brendan scoffed. "No one's unbeatable. Aren't you supposed to go visit him or something anyway?"

"Yes, but I'm not battling him," May said stubbornly. She charged forward into the main hustle of the city, her determination to avoid Brendan's logic outweighing her slight weariness of the crowd. There wasn't really an unbearable amount of people, but there were certainly more than what May was used to.

"Fine, don't battle him. Technically you don't have enough pokemon yet anyway," Brendan relented. He still looked as though he thought she was making an irrational decision, but she paid it no mind. "But why don't you at least go ahead and _visit_ him now?"

May hesitated. "Um. Alright," she said, still torn between excitement and nerves.

"Finally," Brendan grumbled under his breath, spinning on his heel to avert their direction towards the gym.

He expertly weaved his way through the mass of people, so quickly that May felt alarmed she would get lost from him. True to her fears, her petite form was easily overshadowed amongst the mostly larger people, obscuring him from view. She desperately maneuvered her way around a woman carrying groceries, hoping she was heading the same way as Brendan. Thankfully, the broad back of her traveling companion reemerged into her vision, and she surged towards him, instinctively latching onto his t-shirt.

Brendan slowed, peering down at her curiously.

"Sorry," May said, embarrassedly letting go of his shirt. "Me and cities- you know, small town girl."

Apparently, Brendan managed to make sense of her blabbering, for he slowed his pace slightly. May kept up with him much more easily after that, to her immense relief, and soon they had gotten through the worst of the crowd. From where they stood, the steps leading up to Petalburg Gym were only a few feet away.

May stared up at it, in awe, while Brendan turned to look at her mischievously. "Sorry I left you. I forgot what a country bumpkin you are."

She stopped admiring her father's gym to glare at him. "You're from Littleroot Town, same as me!"

"But I've been places," Brendan said in a superior way.

May rolled her eyes and pushed past him to take the lead up the stairs. The steps themselves weren't that high, yet they were wide and awkwardly spaced, which left her panting by the time they had reached the top. Typically, Brendan showed no signs of tiring, gifted with a combination of long legs and a fit body.

Still trying to even out her breathing, May stared at the door. It was very tall and wide, with a simple inscription across it. It read, "_Balance is key," _a fact Norman had lectured May on since the first day she had inquired about training tips.

"_A team prepared for anything is a balanced team, and a balanced team is a good team,"_ he would always say.

"Are we going in? _Today_?" Brendan asked, staring over her shoulder impatiently.

May started out of her memories and back into the present. Nervously fiddling with Soren's pokeball on her belt, she asked, "Should we knock, or…?"

Seeing the look on Brendan's face, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. Shaking her head, she pushed the door open, putting all of her weight behind her to budge the heavy wood.

Like the outside of the gym, the inside was exceedingly plain. Simple wooden floors and a high ceiling formed a lobby type room, a sharp contrast to the battlefield she had been expecting. Two other large doors with their own inscriptions stood to the far left and right of the opposite wall, but May's attention was indisputably drawn to the figure standing between them.

To a stranger, Norman probably would've looked quite imposing. He was a tall man, riddled with muscles from his constant training, and his arms were crossed. His black hair, still quite full for his age, was cut neatly short against his head. This combined with his thick brows and square jaw gave him a ruggedly handsome profile.

May, however, sought out the little details such as the laugh lines around his warm brown eyes and the presence of his favorite training flip flops, which he refused to get rid of no matter how worn out they became. Norman's mouth dropped open slightly at the sudden appearance of his daughter, and she smiled at him uncertainly.

"May?" he said finally. To her relief, his tone held both surprise and happiness. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy!" May cried, unable to restrain the sudden rush of joy she felt at seeing him after weeks of separation. She ran over to hug him tightly, taking comfort in the familiar woodsy scent of his coat. Although he was caught off guard, Norman eased his arms around her to return the embrace.

After a moment, the pair stepped apart to look at one another, May beaming. She grabbed Soren's pokeball and held it in Norman's face, practically shaking with excitement.

"I'm a trainer! Ohmygosh, thank you so much for letting me get him, I-"

Norman chuckled, but with her initial thrill slowly dying down, May could see that there was a definite strain to his normally relaxed face. His eyes swiveled around his gym, pausing briefly on Brendan, who was hovering awkwardly behind May, before returning to his daughter.

"I didn't expect you so soon," he said. Realizing how that sounded, he corrected himself, saying, "I mean, I meant to come home before you got your pokemon, but… Never mind, this way is fine."

"What? What do you mean?"

Before he could answer, before May could introduce him to Soren, before much of anything could happen, a loud knock sounded on the front door of the gym. Norman's face paled, and suddenly he held May's arm in a strong grip, leading her forcefully away from the front of the building. One look at Norman's other hand revealed that he also had a bewildered Brendan in his grasp.

"What are you-"

"Shhh!" Norman hissed. He came to a stop in front of a small slatted door that May had completely overlooked before then. The next thing she knew, Norman had yanked the door open and shoved both of them inside it, ordering, "Not. A. Sound."

He closed the door quietly, enveloping the two teenagers in darkness apart from the small rays of light filtering in from the slats. The wood was angled in a way that allowed them to see bits of movement outside, but so that no one could see inside. However, the dim lighting didn't help the fact that the space was uncomfortably cramped; shelves of pokeballs and various potions lined the wall behind them, and it was impossible for May to move so that she wasn't pressed against Brendan in some way.

The knocking began again, more urgently this time. A loud creaking sound told them that the entrance had been opened.

"See, they knocked!" May couldn't help but whisper. "I-"

Brendan's hand was clasped over her mouth in a split second, his other gripping her shoulder lightly for support. May swallowed nervously, suddenly hyper aware of his proximity. She could feel the warmth off of his body, and occasionally his cool breath caressed the side of her face. It smelled spicy, kind of like cinnamon. She had never been so close to a boy before.

Judging by the tenseness of his face, however, Brendan was far more concerned with what was going on outside their storage closest than with the fact that she was female.

"Blaise. What a pleasant surprise." Norman said, although his tone was clipped, formal. "Or should I call you Mr. Steele, now?"

Vaguely, May could make out her father step aside to allow a suited man entrance to the gym. He let the door swing shut behind them, but did not move away from it, as if he was hoping the visitor wouldn't be staying long.

"Don't be ridiculous," the stranger said. "You shouldn't call me anything other than Blaise."

"Oh, good, good." Norman then stiffly shook hands with Blaise Steele. "To what to I owe the this visit?"

Blaise stepped around Norman, slowly walking around the lobby and inspecting it in a casual manner. May felt her heartbeat increase as he neared their closet, and although Brendan had long since dropped his hand from her mouth, his grasp tightened slightly on her shoulder. It might've been her imagination, but May could've sworn she saw Blaise stare thoughtfully at the door before continuing his trek across the lobby.

"You should know that it's PPA policy to keep a check on League operations," Blaise said finally, turning to Norman. "And despite your history, you certainly qualify as a League operation now, Norman."

Norman cleared his throat. "Of course. I would expect nothing less."

"Although we have no doubt that you're a competent gym leader, we'll require updated information for our database. Your team, certification for your gym trainers, the usual," Blaise said, sounding as if he were discussing yesterday evening's news over lunch with a close friend.

"Of course," Norman said. "Will you be requiring an inspection today?"

Blaise took a while to respond, as if he enjoyed leaving Norman hanging. "No," he said finally. "I simply stopped by today as a friendly reminder. There won't be a formal inspection until next month, but we hope to have your information cataloged within a few days."

"I'll do my best," Norman replied.

"Wonderful," Blaise said, although his tone didn't sound particularly enthused. "I guess I should be on my way for now, then."

"Won't you stay?" Norman asked, although May could tell he wanted the man to do exactly the opposite. She couldn't say she didn't agree with him.

"I'm afraid I'm running on a tight schedule," the other man said, to everyone's relief. "I probably won't be returning for the inspection, but I'm sure I'll see you around sometime."

"I hope so." Norman followed the man towards the exit, and shook hands with him one last time. After a quick farewell, Blaise Steele had disappeared as quickly as he had come.

Silence dominated the room for several long minutes, presumably so Norman could be sure the man wouldn't be returning.

"You can come out, now."

Brendan opened the door, reaching around May to do so, and the two of them stumbled awkwardly out of the closet and back into a reasonable range of personal space. Slightly flustered, May attempted to comb down her hair, which had been ruffled in the stir. Brendan fiddled with the hem of his shirt obliviously.

Norman had his back to them, busy making sure all of his window shutters were closed. May shot a confused, nervous look at Brendan. He seemed very worried, as if he had a better idea of what was going on than she did.

Frankly, May was tired of being in the dark.

"Dad, who was that? Did you know him? Why did we have to hide?" she asked. Norman turned around, and she dared him with her eyes to even try not telling her.

Norman hesitated. After a few moments, he let out a long sigh, as if he was finally facing something he had been dreading for a very long time.

"That man… he's a high ranking member of the Hoenn Pokemon Protection Agency, PPA for short," Norman began slowly. May could see Brendan's face light up with slight understanding, but she felt as confused as ever. She didn't know what PPA was!

Before she could ask, her father continued. "PPA is a branch of the Hoenn government dedicated to protecting the pokemon of the region. They operate separately from the League, but they've really been sticking their noses where they don't belong lately."

"They've come by dad's lab a few times, trying to prove he's abusing pokemon or degrading their habitats or something," Brendan jumped in surprisingly, looking annoyed. "I say they have no clue what they're doing."

Norman snorted. "Sounds about right."

He turned his attention back to May. "They do have a lot of influence, and they have eyes everywhere. They started with good intentions, but sometimes they get a little extreme."

May still didn't understand why she had to hide. Sure, if this PPA thing didn't like the League, the tenseness between Blaise Steele and Norman made sense. However, if PPA only wanted to protect pokemon, why had Norman felt the need to conceal her?

"May," Norman said, reading her face. "I don't want you involved with PPA. Under any circumstances."

She opened her mouth to drill him with questions, but he continued on his explanation in a grave tone.

"Being a gym leader automatically puts me in involvement with them, so I'd rather you didn't parade around the fact that you're my daughter. You don't have to keep it a huge secret, but don't go blabbing it to just anyone."

"What?" May asked, confused and borderline hurt. Did he not think she could take care of herself as a trainer, not at all? Or was he maybe a little ashamed of her?

"Just p_romise_ me, okay? And keep everything I've said here between us," Norman begged.

"Fine, okay," May said, subdued. Brendan nodded in agreement.

"Good," Norman said, obviously relieved his daughter hadn't put up a fight. May slumped unhappily, and he cleared his throat. "Hey… You still haven't shown me that pokemon of yours."

At the mention of Soren, May perked up slightly. She took his pokeball, which had remained in her hand throughout the entire ordeal, and she pressed the release button. It shot open, pouring a white light onto the ground in front of her to form Soren.

"Tree," he greeted, rubbing one eye lazily. He was clearly still a bit tired from his battles that morning.

"This is Soren," May said proudly. "And Soren, this is my dad!"

Norman knelt down to peer more closely at the tiny pokemon. Soren blinked, briefly caught off guard, but he quickly crossed his arms in an effort to look tough. However, he couldn't stop his eyes from following Norman's movements, for even he could clearly sense the man's power.

"What an interesting pokemon," Norman said, eyes brimming with emotion as he stood back up. "I'm happy that you finally get to be a trainer, May."

May was reminded of the fact that it was _Norman_ who had always forbidden her from having a pokemon. However, a warm feeling still bubbled in her stomach at the unmistakable pride in his words. He was proud of her, and she hoped desperately not to let him down as a trainer!

"Me too," she said, happily.

"May, I have something-"

Yet again, a knock sounded on the door, although it was much softer and almost timid this time. May and Brendan both tensed and looked to Norman for a sign of what they should do, sure that it was Blaise Steele returning. Norman, however, remained surprisingly calm, if not slightly disgruntled at being interrupted again.

"It's okay. I was expecting more than one visitor today," he said mysteriously, and then he raised his voice to a yell. "Come on in!"

Slowly, the door peeled open, and a boy poked his head in. His eyes, which were a startling emerald, swept across the room before he cautiously made his way inside.

Although he seemed to be about May's age, he possessed none of the healthy, fit glow that Brendan was blessed with. Instead, he was scrawny, and he was only a couple inches taller than May, who was a relatively short girl. His hair was a lank, greenish brown, and his skin was almost sickly pale, as if he rarely went out into the sunshine.

"H-hi," the boy stuttered nervously, twiddling his thumbs. He glanced at May and Brendan, and a flush spread over his formerly white cheeks. "Um. M-My mom c-called?"

"Yes, I talked to her yesterday," Norman said. He smiled at May, as if he were telling her that this boy was okay. "Wallace, is it?"

"W-wally, sir," the boy corrected meekly.

"Oh yes, Wally! I owe your mother a favor, or several…" He laughed awkwardly, trailing off and leaving the three teens to stare at him questioningly. "Anyway, you wanted to adopt a pokemon?"

"Yes, please…"

Norman frowned. "Ah, I hate to tell you, but I'm afraid I don't have any spares. Not a problem, though- we can just catch you one quickly!"

He explained all of this as he stepped around the three of them and over to the storage closet that May and Brendan had been cramped in only a few minutes ago. With the door open to the brighter lighting of the gym, May could better make out the contents inside, which Norman was shuffling through methodically. No wonder she had felt something stabbing into her back- there was way too much stuff in there!

After a few moments, Norman fished out a pokeball, and then he held it up to his face for some sort of inspection. Wally's eyes widened nervously as he watched the gym leader. "Y-you-re going to h-help me _catch_ a pokemon?"

"I'm afraid not; I have something to take care of," Norman said, chuckling. His gaze landed on May and Brendan, and his smile widened. "I'm busy, but May and Brendan will be happy to teach you."

May stared at him.

"_Leave it to my parents to force me in the company of every teenaged boy in Hoenn,"_ she thought glumly, recalling her disastrous first encounter with Brendan.

Brendan didn't say anything, looking almost as uncomfortable as she felt. Wally was watching them hopefully, if not a bit embarrassedly, and May knew she couldn't leave it up to Mr. Grouch himself to reassure the boy.

"Yeah, sure!" May said, despite the fact that she'd never caught a pokemon before either. In her defense, she knew the technical aspects of it at least!

"Great!" Norman said. Apparently, he had deemed the pokeball acceptable, for he tossed it in Wally's direction. The boy started and lunged for the ball, which slipped through the tips of his fingers and banged loudly to the ground. Blushing, he quickly picked it up and proceeded to clutch it to his chest tightly, as if he were determined not to let go of it again.

Brendan looked on with an incredulous expression, and Soren made the coughing noise that May had long since learned to be his mocking laugh. She kicked him lightly with her foot, sending a meaningful look at him when he gave her a "what'd I do?" expression. Thankfully, Wally was too busy avoiding everyone's eyes to notice.

"Let's go then," Brendan said, after a long moment.

Soren climbed up to settle somewhere between the top of May's head and her shoulders, making sure to mess up her hair as always. She sighed, eyeing him resignedly. She supposed it wouldn't make sense to return him, seeing as they were heading to catch a pokemon, and she might need him again in mere minutes.

"Bye Dad," May said, without thinking. She winced internally, although Norman didn't seem upset, and Wally did nothing but blink between them curiously. Apparently her father knew enough about him to deem him harmless (It wasn't really hard to figure out why).

"Bye," Norman said. "Make sure you come back before you leave, I have something to give you."

"Oooh, what is it?" May asked, pausing in the door and grinning at him eagerly. "Can I have it now?"

Brendan groaned, and Wally took a noticeable step away from the other boy, nervously fiddling with the pokeball in his hands. May ignored her traveling companion, eager to discover what her supposed "gift" was.

"No," Norman said, accustomed to his daughter's nosiness. "Come back and you can have it."

"Aww." She pouted, but Norman ushered them out the door and back into the streets of Petalburg.

"Hmph. Now I'll drive myself crazy wondering what it is," May complained. It was noticeably easier to navigate the streets this time, either because the mid afternoon rush had died down or because Brendan was being more considerate about his pace with Wally. It was probably a combination of both.

"It's called karma, Maple," Brendan drawled. She furrowed her eyebrows, so he elaborated. "You always drive me crazy, so now it's your turn."

May pursed her lips and felt her cheeks puff up, a habit that was becoming rather natural after being around Brendan so much. "I do not! _You_ drive _me_ crazy!"

"Oh yeah. Leading you around, putting up your tent, being your brave protector… real annoying."

"Excuse you!" May sputtered incredulously. "_Brave what_?!"

They squabbled over a bunch of nothing for several minutes, with May finally getting a reality check when she felt Soren begin to bang his head miserably against her own. Glancing upwards, she could see that he had both of his hands over his ears and that he was glaring daggers at them.

"Oh, whatever!" May exclaimed, trying to ignore the victorious smirk on Brendan's face. She slowed her pace slightly to fall into step with Wally, who had begun to trail behind them. The poor boy looked fearful for his life.

She attempted to smile at him, but knowing her it probably came across more like a grimace. He would barely even look at her face, and his eyes kept traveling anxiously to the ground, to her, and back again.

"So," May said, trying to start a conversation. "Are you going to challenge the League?"

Wally's eyes widened comically. "Oh, n-no! My parents would never l-let me!"

"_Great job May, great job,"_ she thought. To Wally, she said, "Oh, sorry!"

"Um, so what are you going to do with your pokemon?" she asked after a brief silence. Brendan was still ahead of them, but she thought he was straining hard to eavesdrop if the slight tilt of his head was anything to go by.

"My parents just d-don't want me to go t-to my uncle's house alone," Wally said. "I'm m-moving in with him…"

"Oh!" May didn't know what else to say, although she really wanted to ask why. Unfortunately, it seemed like it might be a sensitive subject, and they were rapidly getting far enough out of Petalburg to start hunting pokemon.

To her immense shock, Wally explained his situation voluntarily. "They think it will help m-my asthma. The air's clearer w-where he lives."

"Oh, cool," May said, truly interested. She smiled a less forced smile at him, and his lips twitched up into a shy one of his own.

"Alright, do you know what kind of pokemon you want?" Brendan asked Wally abruptly, stopping. May was surprised at how quickly they had gotten away from the city; it was now nothing more than a few buildings in the distance.

Wally shook his head, clueless.

"Zigzagoon would probably be good…" Brendan said, more to himself than to anyone else. May couldn't help but wrinkle her nose, because all she could think about was that snob Tiana's zigzagoon and how it had played dead to trick Soren. It didn't sound very appealing.

"Tree," Soren said distastefully into her ear.

"I know," she replied quietly.

Brendan shot her a suspicious look, but apparently he didn't deem the problem worthy of starting another argument over. Oddly enough, he began wandering around, feeling at seemingly random tree trunks and mumbling nonsense under his breath. Every now and then, he would bend more closely over one, examine it carefully, and then shake his head and move on.

Wally stayed quiet, not questioning him, but May looked on with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry," May whispered to Wally. "He has this thing with trees."

Brendan stopped to glare at her, his hand resting on the trunk of a small oak with peculiar marks running across its lower trunk. "I heard that."

"Seriously, what the heck are you doing?"

"A lot of pokemon mark their territory on trees, Maple," Brendan said defensively. "And zigzagoon do it by rubbing patches off with their fur-"

"Oh my gosh, there's one right there!" May yelled excitedly, pointing to a tree several yards behind Brendan. Sure enough, the fuzzy brown and tan face of a zigzagoon was peering curiously at them, although at the sound of May's loud shout, it yelped and immediately darted away into the depths of the undergrowth.

Brendan slapped himself on the forehead, and May's hands shot up to cover her eyes, as if that could erase her mistake. She felt like such a moron.

"Oh Suicune, I'm sorry!" she cried, cringing.

"Oh, nice!" Brendan griped. "And if you're gonna make proclamations to legendaries, at least use Hoenn ones."

"Guys?" Wally said timidly. They paid him no mind.

"Well sorry for living in Johto for the past ten years?"

"Um…. May-"

"All I'm saying is that people won't look at you like you're crazy if you'd just use Latias."

"Raaa!"

The bright, happy voice, which was filled to the brim with innocence, did not belong to Wally. Finally, May and Brendan stopped fussing long enough to send weird looks at the boy. His own bewildered face was focused fixedly downwards instead of on them, however.

A tiny white pokemon was tugging on Wally's pant leg, its cheerful cherry colored eyes turned on him from underneath its green helmet. "Raa!" it said again, smiling hugely up at the boy.

"No way!" Brendan cried, disbelieving. He immediately whipped out his pokedex, clicking madly. "That's a ralts!

"Quiet, Brendan, you wouldn't want to scare it away," May hissed, scowling at him for his hypocritical behavior. He was too thrilled to respond, although his voice was significantly lower when he spoke again.

"I can't believe this! I spent weeks looking for one when I started my journey, and I didn't see a single one anywhere! Even my dad has only seen then a handful of times in the wild!"

Although May had seen information on ralts in her own pokedex and absently noted that it would make an interesting addition to her team, she seemed to have missed just how valuable it could be. She had often forgotten how skilled of a trainer Brendan really was over the past few days, but when it came down to it, she knew he wouldn't be that excited over nothing.

"Y-you can have it," Wally said to Brendan, looking marginally disappointed, but honest. "I would be fine with a wurmple, or something…"

Brendan's expression went carefully blank. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again. With some reluctance, he said, "No, you should catch it."

"R-really?"

Brendan nodded, and then he turned to May. "Get Soren down there. It shouldn't be hard to weaken."

Soren looked to May for approval, but she found she couldn't give it to him. That ralts was just sitting there, blissfully playing with Wally. It looked so fragile and happy. How could they battle something so precious?

"Do we really have to hurt him?" Wally asked sadly, voicing her thoughts exactly.

Brendan frowned. "I know it sounds bad, but it's just how you do it."

"He could just ask and see if Ralts minds battling. Soren might hurt him…" May said apprehensively.

"Treecko, tree," Soren said, sounding like he agreed with Brendan on the fact that pokemon were built to battle.

"Raa," Ralts said again, this time lightly nudging the pokeball dangling in Wally's hand. It smiled, and then it pressed its horn firmly to the button on the pokeball. The capsule opened and sucked the ralts in in a beam of red light, and it didn't even shake once before making the all-revealing_ ding _sound.

Brendan's mouth hung open. "What… he just caught that ralts. Just like that… How lucky can a person be…"

"More like it caught itself," May mumbled, also shocked.

Wally simply stared at his pokeball, wonder in his emerald eyes, and May felt a warmth in her chest. As corny as it sounded, Wally and Ralts increased her excitement over being a trainer, if that was even possible.

Out of the corner of her eye, May glimpsed Brendan's expression, and for the first time she saw that true love of pokemon reemerge in him, too.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>In case you don't check my profile (And I'm sure most of you don't), I planned not to update over Christmas for a couple of reasons. Basically, I wanted to focus on Christmas, my life was surprisingly hectic considering I'm out of school, and I needed to polish this chapter. Oh this chapter. It was a major pain in my butt. I had blocks on it when I first wrote it, and I've had to go back through it this week to rework some plot issues. Hopefully I've gotten everything straightened out now!

Anyway, I decided to release it today in honor of New Year's Eve! :) I hope you guys enjoyed the introduction of Wally! The next update will come not this Friday but the next, so things will be pretty much back on schedule.

But first, I have a big question about Wally!

**What type of naming scheme should he give his pokemon?** I have a vague one for Brendan and May (Brendan's have some sort of deeper meaning, while May's are simply unique, sometimes borderline weird names). I'm having trouble with Wally's though, so any ideas would be appreciated.

**Oh, and Archie's poll is open, so go vote!**


	7. Chapter 6: Charmed

Thank you for all of the reviews last chapter, and the suggestions regarding Wally. I think I know what I'm going to do now! And the poll is still open, so go vote if you haven't already!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Charmed<strong>

"So… Dad. How about that present?"

As far as May saw it, she had been patient. She had helped Wally catch a pokemon (or rather watched), and she had allowed plenty of time for her father to express his enthusiasm over the fact that they had managed to find a Ralts.

But now it was time for her to get that present he had teased her with, darn it!

Norman looked up at her from where he was leaned down to inspect Ralts. "Did I say present? I think I said s_omething_…"

"Daaad!" May complained, shaking his shoulder and giggling slightly. She could see that he was joking by the mirth dancing in his warm brown eyes.

Her father stood up, glancing at Brendan and Wally, both of whom were beginning to turn their attention away from Ralts and onto them. After a moment of hesitation, he dropped a hand deep into his pocket and said, "Close your eyes, and hold out your arm."

May's excitement waned only slightly, a hint of suspicion entering her brain. If he put a bug in her hand, she would kill him! However, curiosity ultimately won out, and she shut her eyes obediently.

Her hand was held open expectantly, but nothing landed in it. Instead, she felt Norman's large fingers lace something cool around her wrist. He fumbled with it for a second before letting go, leaving a light weight at the end of her arm.

May blinked open her eyes, taking in the beautiful golden bracelet looped around her wrist. Its metal gleamed, intricately woven and without a doubt made out of real gold. On the under side of the bracelet, she could see three charms hanging delicately. There was a heart and a pokeball, both gold with veins of emerald stone forming patterns on the metal. In between them there was a slightly larger emerald sphere, which was approximately an inch in diameter.

"Wow, thanks! It's so pretty," May said, pleasantly surprised. She had been waiting on some special trainer tool or maybe even an exotic pokemon, but definitely not jewelry. She fingered the charms. "Thank you!"

May gave her father a quick hug, still transfixed with her new bracelet.

"Be careful with it," Norman warned, an odd expression crossing his face. "And make sure you don't flash it to strangers. It's expensive."

"Dad," May said, shooting him a look. He sighed, still eyeing the bracelet nervously.

"I know, I know. Let it just be a good luck charm." He checked the clock on the wall behind them. "It's almost closing time. I should probably be getting a head start… I was planning on going home for the weekend."

"Oh, okay… Guess we have to go to the pokemon center," May said, a bit sadly. She had hoped to spend a little more time with him while she was in Petalburg (And maybe score a better bed than those in the center), but she would probably need to move out of the city before he returned.

"You could stay at my house," Wally said shyly. Then he shuffled anxiously, adding, "I-if you want! You don't h-have too."

May glanced at Brendan, sensing no apparent displeasure on his face, and then she smiled appreciatively at Wally. "That would be great! Thank you."

Norman put a hand on May's shoulder and looked at Brendan. "Look after her for me, will you?"

Brendan struggled not to grin, catching May's eye. "Sure thing."

"Dad, I can look after myself!"

"Just be sure not to get too close. She is my little girl," Norman said, ignoring her. Brendan faltered, looking embarrassed, and May's cheeks turned crimson. She covered her burning face with both hands.

"Ohmygosh, _Dad,_ would you stop?!"

* * *

><p>"You're sure you wouldn't like anymore casserole, honey?"<p>

"No thank you," May said, smiling politely. On either side of her, Brendan shamelessly downed a second helping, while Wally followed his mother's movements with slightly embarrassed eyes.

Although she had ushered them into their basement for "privacy" from the adults, she seemed to find an excuse to return to them once every five minutes or so. It was painfully obvious that she wasn't used to Wally having guests, and she was eager to entertain them.

"You must not have your father's appetite, then," the woman said amusedly. "When we were in school, he always did eat like a wailmer- which I wish my son would do occasionally! Finish that casserole, Wally!"

"Yes ma'am," Wally said quietly, his cheeks tinting pink.

May struggled to hide her smile, and she could see that Brendan was also looking unusually tight-lipped. And she had thought her parents overprotective!

"So that's how you know my dad?" May asked, trying to diffuse the growing awkwardness as Wally's mother watched him like a fearow.

"Oh yes!" the woman said, laughing. She lowered her voice secretively, winking. "He was always such an amazing battler, but written exams weren't his thing- that's what he borrowed me for!"

May laughed, completely surprised that her dad had tried to cheat on his tests in trainer school. He had always been the one that lectured her about the importance of knowledge to go along with skill. She internally promised to call him out on his hypocrisy at the earliest opportunity.

Finally, when Wally had cleared the last bit of food from his bowl, his mother finally bid them goodnight and retreated upstairs.

"So…" Wally began shyly. "Um. Do you w-want to play a game, or watch a movie, or something?"

He pointed towards the other side of the basement, in which there was a living area organized around an aged, rather clunky TV. Under the TV stand, May could see stacks of old board games and DVDs.

"Sure," May said. She wrinkled her nose, pulling at her clothes. They were uncomfortably tight after spending the long day in them, and a light smell of sweat was starting to accumulate from her week on the road. She would have to see about using a washing machine sometime before leaving Petalburg. "Is there somewhere I can change into my pajamas, first?"

Wally nodded his head, tripping a bit in his haste to stand and guide his guest to the small basement bathroom. May took her backpack, shutting the door firmly behind her and quickly shuffling through her small supply of clothing. She had only been able to bring her main traveling outfit, a couple nicer ones for any days spent in a town, and a single pair of pajamas.

Life was rough.

May pulled on her pink tank top and matching eevee pajama pants, reveling in the loose feel of them. She messily crumbled her trainer outfit into a ball and stuffed it back into the bag, throwing her bandana and shoes along with it. Finally, she twisted her hair up into a messy bun, and then she dragged her belongings clumsily over towards the boys.

Somehow, they had both already managed to dress in their own night attire. Brendan wore a mismatched gym outfit, and his hat was off, which left his messy hair on display. Wally was in a matching gray pair with an actual button down shirt. It dawned on May that no boy had actually seen her in her pajamas before; even over the past few days with Brendan, she had been wearing them only out of sight in her tent.

Feeling slightly awkward, she sat on the floor with them, leaning back against the couch. Wally was playing absentmindedly with Ralts, and Brendan only spared her a secondary glance from where he was setting up a board game.

"Nice pants," he said, smirking down at the pieces he was organizing.

May stuck her tongue out at him immaturely, but then a familiar green creature nuzzled the side of her arm. "Oh, hi, Soren!" she said, blinking and rubbing him on the back. He gazed at the board game curiously before shaking his head and running back over to play with Orion, Neptune, and Iris (Well, mostly Neptune and Orion).

"Fine then," May called after him, which he ignored. "I'll win by myself!"

As it turned out, May was soon doing the exact opposite of winning. She was 1000 fake pokedollars in debt, while Brendan led both she and Wally by a mile.

"I'll catch the charizard now," Brendan announced. His face had been so smug for the past fifteen minutes that it was practically painful for May to look at.

"He's cheating," May said sulkily, glancing at Wally. "He's got to be cheating, right?"

"Some of us are just talented," Brendan said, placing his color peace on the charizard. "I've caught the steelix, the slaking, the charizard-"

"Hey, I really need to catch a pokemon," May announced, cutting across Brendan's bragging. She rolled the dice, her new bracelet tinkling at the movement, but luck still wasn't on her side. Glumly, she passed the dice to Wally.

"Too bad I've almost gotten all the goods ones already."

May scowled at Brendan. "I mean a real one!"

He snorted. "I know. Soren can't keep doing everything."

Wally managed to claim the manetric before it was Brendan's turn again. May, quickly losing interest in the game, began to think about which pokemon she should try to catch. From a combination of her encounters and studying of the pokedex, she remembered that zigzagoon, poochyena, wurmple, taillow, and seedot, among others, lived in the immediate area, while a wider variety inhabited the nearby Petalburg Forest.

"Hey Brendan, do you know any really good pokemon around here? Like maybe a fire type?" May asked, barely paying attention to the fact that she lost her turn again.

Brendan furrowed his brow. "Hmm. I don't think there are any fire types here unless they just happen to be passing through."

May sighed, her mind going blank. She was especially eager to have a pokemon that could control the powerful element of fire, but she supposed she could always go for another basic type to help balance out Soren's immediate weaknesses. A water type would be a good start, or maybe an electric type.

"Um. I think there are slakoth, like your dad's, in the forest if you look hard enough," Wally piped up, to her great surprise.

"Yeah, I've seen them a few times," Brendan said thoughtfully.

May seriously entertained the idea. For her entire life, she had admired the might of her father's signature pokemon, and she was well accustomed to them. Without a doubt, they would be a powerful addition to any team if trained correctly.

But did she _really_ want to use a pokemon that her father was so famous for? She wanted to be seen as a powerful trainer in her own right, not always as "Norman's daughter".

"I don't think I want to copy my dad," May decided hesitantly.

"There's a beach nearby. You could always look for a corphish or some other water type," Brendan suggested. He tossed the dice, and they rolled to a slow stop. "Yes! I win!"

"Cheater," May snipped. "I think I'll do that."

"What do you want to lose at next?" Brendan asked, looking over the other games with Wally.

"Let's watch a movie," May said quickly, crawling forward to examine the DVDs. She really didn't feel like getting creamed at a game again, especially not by Brendan. One of her favorite movies soon caught her eye, and she excitedly yanked it from its spot to show the boys. "Oooh, let's watch this one!"

A beautiful illustration of an umbreon staring longingly at an espeon was on the cover, with fancy writing in the stars titling the DVD "The Sun and Moon". It was a heart-wrenching story about forbidden lovers, and May could watch it a million times and never get tired of it.

Wally stared at the DVD with wide eyes. "Whatever you want…"

"I am _not _watching that," Brendan said loudly over the other boy. He nudged his way in next to a glaring May and snatched out a different movie. "Here, this one has some action- Hey, there are some mushy girl parts too, you'll like it!"

May plopped down on the couch, pretending to be annoyed as Brendan started up the movie. She actually quite liked action movies, but he didn't have to know that.

Noticing the TV, the pokemon meandered over. Soren jumped immediately into May's lap, like Ralts was doing to Wally, while Iris and Knox settled near Brendan's feet under the recliner. Neptune beat Orion to the loveseat, which he then laid across, cackling madly. Orion huffed and took the seat in between May and Wally.

The blaziken radiated a comforting heat, and Soren was snuggled up in her arms, both of which drew May into an incredibly relaxed state. She thought of the next day, hoping desperately that she would finally catch her second pokemon.

* * *

><p><em>May soared upwards, dancing through the clouds as elegantly as a ballerina.<em>

_She felt like she was surrounded by hundreds of fluffy white marshmallows. Behind the puffs, the azure blue of the sky shone brightly. Somewhere, far beneath her, there was land, but she was home. Home in the sky. _

_The wind was pleasantly cool against her cheeks, and the air grew steadily colder the further she climbed. She was high, so high that she could see the faint glimmer of the stars…_

A door slammed somewhere, awakening May. She jolted about in under her thick blanket on the couch, and for a moment, she couldn't remember where she was. Soren, who often fell asleep in her arms, was nowhere to be seen.

"It's ruined my flowers, and the magikarp are upset! This is the fifth time this week!"

The sound of Wally's mother's voice brought May back up to date. She had spent the night at Wally's house, but where were he and Brendan? Wally's end of the couch and Brendan's recliner were abandoned, and not even a pillow was left to show that they had fallen asleep there.

"Oh look, Sleeping Beauty's finally awake."

"Good morning, May."

Brendan leaned up against the back of the couch, smirking down at her, and Wally hovered behind him uncertainly. May rubbed at her eyes, sitting up. Although she was still only half awake, it didn't take a genius to figure out which boy had said what.

"What about flowers?" May asked sleepily.

"My mom," Wally said, sheepishly pointing out the window into his backyard. May could vaguely make out the form of Wally's mother waving her arms over a tiny, clear pool surrounded by gorgeous vegetation. The women had clearly put lots of time into it. "Some marill is trying to move into our pond."

"Azurill," Brendan corrected.

May leapt off the couch, starting towards the door excitedly. "That's a water type! I'm going to catch it!"

"It's not a water type yet-"

"Whatever, it will be!" May realized she was still in her pajamas. She frantically snatched up her backpack and ran towards the bathroom, passing Soren on the way. He was perched on top of the kitchen table, arrogantly looking down on Ralts with both hands on his hips. The other pokemon stared back at him from the floor wistfully.

"Soren, get ready!" she called from the bathroom. He gave no response, but she knew he had to have heard her.

May changed clothes at record place, barely managing to get her shirt on straight. When she returned to the main room, Ralts suddenly disappeared and reappeared next to Soren in a flash. Caught off guard, the treecko flailed around and fell onto his butt against the wooden table.

"Tree!" Soren accused angrily, glaring at Ralts. Ralts deflated, looking devastated, but May yanked Soren off the table and made a beeline for the pond. She would have to reprimand him for his terrible manners later.

Wally's mother stood in front of her picture perfect pond, practically shaking with frustration. Her hair was oddly wet, and her frown was trained firmly on the little blue ball of fur hopping obliviously at the water's edge.

The azurill had a tiny, circular body and rounded blue ears. Its tail, which reminded May of a rubber ball, was bigger than its body, and the pokemon was bouncing around on it joyfully, laughing at each begonia it crushed beneath it. She had seen azurill before in Johto, yet she still couldn't hold back an internal squeal at its utter adorableness.

"Ril!" the azurill trilled happily, nodding in greeting at May and the boys.

"Ko," Soren said, poking May's collarbone. She blinked, realizing she had been beaming at the azurill like an idiot.

"Sorry," May said. She set him down. "Quick attack!"

Soren shot forward in a burst of speed, ramming Azurill roughly with his boney elbows. He was small, but the momentum was plenty enough to send the other pokemon tumbling across the ground.

Azurill finally stopped rolling, coughing up what looked like a bit of mud. She stood shakily, and she met Soren's glare with slightly watery eyes. He had no mercy, shooting forwards to knock at her with another quick attack.

Surprisingly, the azurill reared her tail back and then slung it away from Soren, which carried the force to propel the tiny creature a few feet out of harms way. She landed safely on her feet and stared hard at Soren. Her black pupils seemed to enlarge and sparkle with innocence, causing Soren to freeze uncertainly.

"Tree?" he questioned warily, scratching his cheek.

May was flabbergasted. She racked her brain for what attack the azurill was using. It wasn't intimidating like leer, but it was having a similar effect. What was it?

"_Charm!"_ she realized, yet that didn't help her stop it.

Not knowing what else to do, May yelled, "Soren, she's charming you! Snap out of it!"

Soren blinked, slowly coming too, but Azurill was ahead of him. Grinning, she opened her mouth and shot a few tiny bubbles in his direction, probably the same ones that had soaked the head of Wally's mother. One collided with his nose with a resounding 'pop'.

He flinched, more out of annoyance than real pain. His yellow eyes narrowed into slits, and May knew he was back.

"Pound!" she ordered quickly.

Soren jumped high into the air, spinning slightly in the way he and May had been practicing just before his tail slammed Azurill firmly into some nearby lilies. He crouched to the ground, ready for his next order, but the azurill already looked rather disoriented. Taking that as her cue, May fumbled for a pokeball.

"_Please work, please work," _she begged mentally as she tossed the pokeball at Azurill.

The device absorbed her, and May crossed her fingers and bit her lip. The pokeball shook once, twice, three times, and then the 'ping' of a successful capture filled the air.

"I got it!" May cried, thrilled. She grabbed Azurill's pokeball off the ground in one hand and forced Soren into a tight hug with the other. The treecko's gaze followed the pokeball darkly, as if it were a bomb just waiting to explode.

Behind her, she saw Wally grinning, and Ralts gestured towards the pokeball excitedly. Even Brendan smiled at her in a strange, bemused way.

"Oh…" Wally's mother said, in a small voice. She was staring with an open mouth at her pond. Mud had been strewn about everywhere from where the two pokemon had tussled, and flower petals were floating helplessly in the water, which caused the inhabiting magikarp to retreat to the bottom.

May winced, and Soren pointed an accusing finger at her in an effort to remove the blame from himself. "Oh crap. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Oh, no, no!" the woman said in a high-pitched voice, trying to wave May's apology away. "At least the azurill's gone, right?"

May continued to apologize, but Wally's mother kept making impossible excuses for her mistake. Finally, Brendan interrupted her by peering curiously over her shoulder at the pokeball. He held his pokedex in one hand, pointing at his screen.

"Azurill is part fairy type. That might be useful, they're really rare."

May beamed. She still couldn't believe her luck. "I can't wait to start training her!"

"As long as it's not in my back yard," Wally's mom begged. "_Please, _dear Latias."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, May, Brendan, and Wally wandered to a small clearing not far outside of Petalburg. May was eager to test the waters with her new pokemon, while both Brendan and Wally thought it would be nice to let theirs get some fresh air.<p>

"I'm May, and that's Soren, Brendan, Wally, Orion, Acumi, Neptune, Knox, Iris, and Ralts," May said, bending down towards Azurill with her hands on her knees.

She pointed towards each person or pokemon as she said his or her name, but by the time she had turned back around, Azurill was fixated on bouncing her tail against a nearby rock. May blinked at her, unsure if she had absorbed a single word.

"Um… You got that?"

"Ril?"

Azurill cocked her head to the side curiously, but after a few seconds she just nodded and continued playing with her tail. May was left even more confused than before. She felt distinctly grateful that Brendan was busy scolding Neptune for making Ralts cry, because she was sure he would find her dilemma amusing.

Unlike Azurill, Soren was observing her carefully. He let out an unimpressed snort from where he sat a few feet away, his thin green arms crossed. May tried her best to ignore him, for she suspected he was only acting out (even more so than normal) because he was jealous.

"So, um, Azurill. Can I call you…." She stared at the sky for a moment, deep in thought and determined to name her new friend as soon as possible. Several different ideas floated around in her mind before she finally stumbled upon a good one. "Hey, how about Demi?"

"Ril ril," the pokemon replied, laughing and pointing towards a taillow flying in the distance.

May decided she might as well just go with it. "Okay then. Demi it is!"

Demi wiggled her ears and smiled at May, leaning forwards to nuzzle into the girl's hand. A pleasant feeling bubbled in her chest at the action. It had taken Soren days to really warm up to physical affection from her, and he had been raised in captivity!

May stood up, smiling from ear to ear, and she walked over to a tree at the edge of the clearing. Taking a tiny, sharp rock, she roughly etched a circle into the bark. She pointed at it, looking back at Demi.

"Think you can hit this with your bubble attack?" she asked.

Demi seemed confused as to why the girl would want her to do such a thing, but she quickly shook it off and then cheerfully spit three bubbles towards the tree. Unfortunately, they popped in the air about a foot away from their target.

Slightly disappointed, May moved the azurill a bit closer to the tree and urged her to keep trying. She had more success the second time around, and after that, the bubbles even cleared away pieces of the bark on occasion.

"Ko…" Soren grumbled sulkily. Brendan, Wally, and Ralts had joined him on the ground, yet he looked none the happier for it.

"Soren," May called, feeling guilty. She motioned for him, and he made a show of reluctantly creeping over to her. She nudged him lightly with her foot when he reached her, smiling teasingly. "You'd better get your butt to work too. I can't have slackers!"

"Tree, treecko!" Soren said indignantly.

With that, he moved over to a nearby rock and began practicing his pound attack again. His expression was tense, and cracks appeared rather quickly on the hard surface of his target. He was clearly determined to prove that he, next to the carefree Demi, was the superior specimen.

May tried to guide her pokemon, although she slowly became uncomfortably aware of everyone's eyes on her. Wally was absolutely transfixed; he kept glancing from Soren to May to Ralts, as if he were imagining himself in her shoes. Brendan watched her with a troubled frown. Even Brendan's pokemon, most of whom rarely gave her the time of day, were staring from their various spots around the clearing.

"Um," May began awkwardly. "Do any of you want to maybe train with us?"

No one spoke for a tense moment, but Orion soon waved his claw eagerly, indicating he wanted to join. Iris growled in disgust at him, while Acumi ducked her face deep into her leafy wings as though she didn't want to see what was about to happen.

Brendan stiffened noticeably, but surprisingly, he made no immediate remark on his pokemon's behavior. May bit her lip, nervously recalling the time he had exploded at his father for bringing up training. She really hoped she wasn't about to get an earful.

"No thanks," Brendan said finally, his expression hard. His next words were clearly forced. "But you can help them, if you want, Orion."

"Blaze," Orion said happily. The rest of Brendan's team seemed to be in shock as he approached May, clearly asking how he could help.

"Uh…" May glanced between Brendan and Orion unsurely. The boy let out a long sigh.

"Soren looks like he's doing a number on that rock," Brendan said tiredly. "Why don't you see if he can land a hit on Orion? He's great at dodging."

Great was an understatement.

Although he was far larger than Soren, Orion moved with terrifying agility and precision. Soren quickly grew frustrated that he couldn't get in a decent pound attack, and his offense became overly frantic and aggressive. Sensing this, Orion easily side-stepped a swing of his tail and then brought his foot down lightly overtop Soren to force the treecko to the ground.

May groaned. "Soren, you gotta keep a clear head!" she called, as Orion released the fuming treecko from the weight of his foot.

Soren nodded reluctantly at her, panting, and then shot back towards a gloating Orion.

"Wow," she heard Wally whisper to himself.

"You sure you don't want to train with us?" May asked, realizing he had never given her an answer before. She smiled, trying to look as inviting as possible.

Wally gulped, and he began opening and closing his mouth like his mother's magikarp. As he fumbled for an answer, his face slowly grew pink. "U-um… I-I don't…. My mom wouldn't l-like it…"

"Okay, then…" May said doubtfully.

She tried to hide her frown, recalling all the years she had spent being basically repressed by her parents. It was because they loved her and wanted her safe, but she couldn't help but wish Wally would show a little bit of rebellion for something he was clearly interested in. At least _she _had put up a fight, even if she always lost.

But it had paid off in the end, hadn't it? Here she was, finally a trainer. Maybe the same thing could happen for Wally.

Just when she was contemplating saying something about it, Demi caught May's eye. Instead of aiming for the circle, the azurill had begun playfully trying to pop her own bubbles. Each time she succeeded, she would erupt into a round of giggles before blowing some more to chase after.

"Demi, you're supposed to be training!" May cried, waving her hands accusingly at her pokemon.

Demi paused in blowing her bubbles, giggling joyfully. For a moment, May thought she was victorious. However, when Demi opened her mouth to blow more bubbles, she didn't aim for the tree, but straight for May.

She squealed instinctively as the bubbles made contact. They weren't painful, yet they left miserable wet patches all across her clothes and hair.

"_Demi!" _May screeched, wiping uselessly at her drenched tank top. She could hear laughter in the background from several sources; she could easily guess which ones.

"Oh, my," an amused, but unfamiliar voice interrupted May's death glare at all of her companions.

A man had somehow found their clearing, and the way he was grinning at May suggested that he didn't at all regret it. She fixed the scorching look formerly intended for the others on him.

"_Really, you're laughing at the way _I_ look_?" May wanted to say.

The guy really did stick out like a sore thumb. He had short, curly brown hair that had begun receding ever so slightly, and May suspected that it would look like an afro were he to grow it out much more. Dark sunglasses obscured his eyes, which matched with the chain around his neck connected to a Pokenav. His shirt, a flower-printed button down, covered his potbelly.

Overall, May was automatically given the impression of a pompous tourist.

"Well, I thought I heard some intense training going on and I wanted to investigate," the man continued, thoroughly ignoring her unwelcoming demeanor. He laughed. "I can't say this was what I was looking for."

The disappointment in his voice was enough for May. "Who are you?" she practically snapped.

"Just a guy who enjoys talent," he said knowingly. She couldn't see beneath his sunglasses, but he seemed to have noticed the others' presence. His mouth fell open, and he actually tilted his sunglasses downwards, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Brendan Birch? On the road again?" the man said, sounding as if Christmas had come early. He let out another laugh, although this one seemed more thrilled than condescending. "I knew that blaziken looked like too fine a specimen for a newbie!"

May huffed angrily, but the man ignored her completely. He was focused on Brendan, and Brendan only.

"Just helping out a friend," Brendan said, coming off about as welcoming as May felt. His hands fisted in the grass beneath him, revealing just how frustrated he really was, but he managed a slight nod in her direction.

The man frowned, rocking around on the balls of his feet. "Shame. Well, my offer always stands, Birch."

"So does my answer," Brendan replied rapidly.

The man sighed. "Ah well, duty calls. I need to go sniff out talent in the Petalburg gym- other than Norman's, hopefully."

And with a wave, the man was gone just as quickly as he had come.

"By the way, the gym isn't open today, dumby," May said, once he was out of earshot. She scowled, turning to Brendan. "Whatever he wants, I'm glad you said no."

Normally, she would be itching to ask how Brendan knew him, but it was the least of her worries at the moment. Wally eyed her warily.

"Um, M-may? Maybe we should take a s-snack break," he suggested timidly.

May agreed reluctantly, although Brendan and the pokemon seemed very keen on the idea. Personally, she wanted to keep training so she could see that guy again and prove to him how awesome she and her pokemon were.

"_Newbie. Please, as if that guy has ever picked up a pokeball in his life!"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> The first update of the new year finally revealed the mysterious new pokemon! I hope you guys like her! I just thought it was something that hasn't already been done 1000 times.

I MADE A WIKI FOR THE STORY! The link is in my profile, so check it out! Credit to the idea goes to Synth it Up, who also made one for his (?) Hoenn story. If my story ever gets a little slow for your taste, check out his, because it's very plot driven and exciting.

**What's your favorite water type? **(Mine might be the mudkip line, but it's so hard for me to choose! The totodile line would be a close second, but I have to say, after writing Demi for a while, I like the marill line a lot too. Please bear with me as I continue to name every water type in existence)

Don't forget to review! I see all of you readers ;)


	8. Chapter 7: Into the Woods

WHAT? We broke 60 reviews already?! The response to last chapter was amazing. Love you guys!

**Warning:** This seems kind of pointless because my story is rated T, but there will be very mild cursing in this chapter (And it might pop up again in certain situations). I just wanted to let you guys know since I don't make a habit of adding swearing to my writing.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Into the Woods<strong>

Wally's emerald eyes glinted with sadness as his parents packed all of his belongings into the small family car. Ralts, who he clutched tightly to his chest, kept patting his arm reassuringly.

May adjusted her backpack and gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Hey, we'll visit you if we stop by Verdan Town, won't we, Brendan?" she said, hoping she sounded comforting.

"It's Verdan_turf_, May," Brendan grumbled, rolling his eyes. Despite his annoyed show, he nodded at Wally, and then he pulled his Pokenav out of his pocket. "Give me your number and I'll let you know if we're around."

Wally blinked before clumsily typing in his Pokenav number on Brendan's device. May watched enviously, wishing she could exchange numbers with anyone, really. All she had was a Pokegear, and she had left it back in her room because it couldn't even get signal in the Hoenn region!

"Wally!" Wally's father shouted at him from the front seat, his hands on the wheel. He shot his son a meaningful look.

"Well, bye," Wally said regretfully. "T-thanks again."

As quickly as he had come into their lives, he was gone. May watched the car disappear, feeling slightly saddened by his departure. She wasn't sure she would see him again, and although she really didn't know him that well, Wally had managed to grow on her in the short time they had hung out.

"He's a sweet kid," May said aloud. Surprisingly, Brendan nodded in agreement.

"Yup. So, ready to go?" he asked, pulling on his backpack straps as if to better illustrate his question.

May nodded, and the two began walking down the travelers' path out of Petalburg at a reasonable pace. As they got further from the city, the trees and vegetation around them grew steadily thicker, and a strange smell entered the air. It was all completely unfamiliar ground to May, but she trusted Brendan to get them where they needed to go.

"Um, which gym are we going to again?" she asked after a while, breaking the silence. Although she and Brendan were slowly becoming more accustomed to one another, sometimes there was a lack of conversation when they weren't arguing.

"The one in Rustboro City. It's the easiest to get to from here, and the leader uses rock types, which gives you an advantage," Brendan explained.

"Oh, good," May said. She was still distracted by the peculiar scent in the breeze, which seemed to be becoming more prevalent. It was vaguely familiar, and when she inhaled deeply again, her eyes brightened in understanding. "Is the ocean this way?"

"Yeah," he replied, completely disinterested. His eyes were focused firmly ahead on a distant clump of tall, dark trees.

"I haven't been to the beach in forever!" May said excitedly. There were no beaches located very close to Azalea Town in Johto, so her parents had only taken her to the ocean a handful of times. Unfortunately, a thought occurred to her, and she frowned. "Oh, but I forgot to pack a bathing suit!"

"We don't have time to go, anyway," Brendan said dismissively, shooting her a weird look.

"What? Why not?" May cried, shocked. Why wouldn't someone go to the beach if they had the opportunity? "Don't you like _the beach_?"

"Yeah, I like the beach." Brendan rolled his eyes in exasperation. "But we need to start through Petalburg Woods. It's a long way."

"Fine." May pouted. Under her breath, she grumbled, "Fun sucker."

Brendan snorted, apparently having heard her, but not really caring. With a hint of a smirk on his lips, he said, "Besides, that beach sucks compared to most of the ones in Hoenn, anyway."

May wanted to ask him which beach he would rather take her to, but they had reached their destination. The former distant clump of trees was up close and personal, and it looked a lot more intimidating. Shadows fell under the broad leaves, making it hard to see inside, and the smell of damp earth replaced the salty tang of the ocean.

Seemingly undeterred, Brendan continued right on into the trees as if they had never paused. May bit her lip, but she followed him between the thick trunks, not wanting to seem like a baby.

The lighting in the forest was significantly dimmer than that outside, but May could see what a wild haven the place was. Tall grass and other vegetation sprouted everywhere across the ground, completely uncontrolled, and the rustle of pokemon life could be heard from all sides. She didn't catch sight of any of the creatures until she nearly tripped over a large rock, which sent a silver bug type scuttling out from underneath it and into the trees.

May gasped, jumping instinctively closer to Brendan. Apparently, she had already been subconsciously standing very near him, because their arms brushed from her action. An unwelcome tingle shot up May's skin where it had touched his ever so briefly.

Brendan's eyebrows rose, and the knowing look on his face caused her palms to sweat nervously. "Scared, Maple?"

"No!" May scowled, although she was secretly a bit relieved that was all he had noticed. "And quit calling me Maple!"

"Fine, _May_," Brendan said, dragging out the sound of her name obnoxiously.

"I'm just saying, it is my name and I'd like to be called it sometimes! You said it earlier when you where talking to me and-" May continued blabbering, only cutting herself off when she noticed Brendan shaking his head in amusement.

They continued on with little speaking for what could've been either hours or minutes, May wasn't sure. The visibility in the forest stayed largely the same; if anything, it became even harder to detect the sun as they progressed. She was getting used to it, but she couldn't completely shake the nasty feeling that there were bugs lurking everywhere.

Finally, after May's feet had begun to ache, Brendan came to an abrupt halt. They had entered an area where there were no trees for maybe ten feet in either direction, something they had only encountered a few other times while following the forest path.

"We should set up camp here," Brendan suggested.

"But-" May checked her pokedex, confused. "It's not even four yet. The sun isn't going to set for a while."

"It gets dark really fast in here," Brendan said, pointing upwards towards the far-reaching trees. May understood what he was getting at, because the trees would probably obscure the sun completely by the time it was dusk. Besides, he _had_ been in this forest before, while she hadn't.

"Hm. Okay."

Brendan released all of his pokemon, setting them various jobs to help with camp. Orion and Knox went after firewood, while Neptune was ordered to fill the cooking pot with water. Acumi went to gather berries, and a grumbling Iris trailed after her.

May dropped her backpack off of her shoulders, letting it land next to Brendan's, and decided to follow his lead. She grabbed the two pokeballs off of her belt and released their occupants. Soren stretched gratefully, although he looked a bit irritated at not having been out since breakfast. Demi let out a pleased cry and wobbled over to Neptune, who was just about to lug the pot out of sight.

"Ril!" Demi said, eagerly poking at the pot as if asking if she could help. Neptune frantically shook his head and practically fled the clearing. Demi deflated momentarily before looking around for the rest of Brendan's team, but it was to no avail. They had all disappeared just as quickly as Neptune.

"Your pokemon are a bunch of bullies," May accused, patting Demi on the head sympathetically.

"My pokemon don't want to babysit," Brendan corrected, throwing out his sleeping bag. May shot him her best winning smile, and a brief stare down ensued. Finally, Brendan sighed miserably and pulled her capsule tent out of her bag to begin setting it up.

"Hmph," May said after a moment. "Soren will play with Demi, won't you, Soren?"

She looked around for her treecko, but he was no longer standing on the ground next to her. After glancing around confusedly for a moment, she finally spotted him up in the branches of a nearby tree. He was laid back lazily with his hands behind his head.

"Treecko tree," he said, waving one hand to casually deny her request.

"Gee, thanks," May said, glaring up at Soren.

Brendan sniggered from where he was adjusting the poles to May's tent. She shot him a displeased look, which did absolutely nothing to quell his laughter. Annoyed, May picked up Demi and turned back to Soren.

"Get down here, Soren! We're gonna go train!" she snapped, stomping back towards the main path. Soren hopped down obediently, and Brendan straightened.

"Hey, wait!" Brendan called after her. He furrowed his brow. "You're not going far, are you?"

May spun around, the hand that wasn't holding Demi poised on her hip threateningly. "I'll be fine."

Brendan shuffled uneasily. "I'm just saying it's a big forest and you only have two tiny pokemon."

"Tree!" Soren jumped in, offended. May joined him in scowling at Brendan.

"My pokemon are fine!"

"I _know,_ but-"

"Well which ones did you have when you came through the first time?" May asked irritably, interrupting him. He hesitated, and she knew she had won.

"Orion, and- You know what, never mind," Brendan cut himself off coldly and dusted his hands off, standing up. He had finished setting up her tent. "Go ahead, but you'll get lost if you leave the path."

"So I won't leave the path," May said in a finalized tone, and she quickly made her way out of sight of their camp.

She needed to get away from Brendan. Where did he get off, acting as if she couldn't take care of herself? She was a trainer! So what if she was a beginner. He had been too, at some point, and he had traveled alone!

"I don't know what he's worried about," May said, glancing around at the trees surrounding the path. She wouldn't admit it for anything, but the woods did seem an awful lot bigger and darker without Brendan leading the way. She squeezed Demi slightly. "We've already camped out alone and everything, haven't we, Soren?"

"Tree…" Soren said dryly, obviously recalling the wurmple incident.

May frowned down at him, but Demi distracted her by wiggling uncomfortably around in her arms. Sighing, she loosened her grip so the azurill could jump to the ground and walk alongside Soren. Her eyes followed the blue pokemon carefully, because it seemed like it would be easy for Demi to wander off and get lost.

May didn't really know what type of training she was looking to give them at the moment. A battle with a wild pokemon would be nice, or even just a place with more space for them to move. Either way, nothing in the immediate vicinity of camp caught her eye, so she continued ahead.

They had been walking for barely five minutes when two boys appeared, both of them headed the opposite direction as her on the path. They looked young, probably around ten years old, and they each held long nets, which they were swinging jovially as they moved. May knew they had spotted her as well when one of them pointed excitedly towards her.

"Hey, look, it's a trainer!" he exclaimed.

The other pushed in front of him (Much to his companion's annoyance) and said, "Battle me! Oh, please, battle me!"

May started to grin, thrilled at her luck. She couldn't believe she had found other trainers so close by! Just as she was about to agree to his request, a pink form resting on top of his hat caught her eye. It was a wurmple.

May looked from the bug type's many wiggling legs to the joyful face of its trainer. The trainer who was clearly a bug catcher. It should've been obvious. The smile quickly fell from May's face.

"Um… No thanks," she said, biting her lip. "My pokemon are kind of tired."

"They don't look that tired to me," the first boy said suspiciously. His gaze traveled over Soren's incredulous expression to Demi's oblivious smile.

"Oh, they are," May lied quickly.

"Dang it!" The boys' shoulders slumped. "Okay then. See ya later!"

They passed her, and she gave the one with the wurmple a particularly wide berth. She was glad Brendan wasn't with her when she ran into them, or he would have surely had something to say about her denial of a battle.

"Treecko," Soren said as soon as they were gone. He glared at her accusingly. Meanwhile, Demi poked playfully at a stray pile of decomposing leaves.

May groaned. "I'm sorry, Soren! You know I hate bug types."

"Tree."

"They just… They were what he used that night," May said, gripping her arm uncomfortably. She had briefly mentioned to Soren what had happened to her, and why her parents hadn't wanted her to be a trainer for so long. Still, she hated to bring it up, because it was impossible not to feel some of that fear again when she did.

"Ko." Soren's face softened uncharacteristically. He stepped forward and patted her knee, which was the highest place he could reach without climbing up her. She gave him a thankful smile.

Their moment was interrupted when a loud, furious cry cut through the air. The pile of leaves Demi had been prodding exploded in every direction, and the angry face of a small, green pokemon appeared from underneath them. After a moment of recollection, May realized that it was called a shroomish.

"Demi!" she hissed, eyeing the pokemon apprehensively. It didn't look like it could do much, but the way it was shaking its leafy body threateningly wasn't particularly comforting.

"Zur!" Demi said happily. She waved at the shroomish, and as if in slow motion, she opened her mouth and spat a single bubble in the pokemon's direction. It splashed onto its forehead with a ridiculously loud 'pop'.

If it had been possible, May had no doubt the shroomish's skin would've turned red from anger. The frills around the opening on top of its head quivered, releasing a cloud of dangerous-looking purple spores. They rose as if in slow motion, causing the nearby weeds to wilt upon contact.

May and Soren watched in horror, backing up and holding their breath instinctively. Unfortunately, Demi was slower on the uptake. When the spores reached her, she inhaled deeply before promptly cringing to the forest floor in pain.

May reacted on impulse. In a flash, she had returned both Soren and Demi, and she put a hand over her mouth and nose before just running. The shroomish was blocking the direction they had come from, and the noxious cloud was floating the opposite way.

She went the only way she could, which was directly into the depths of the woods

* * *

><p>Brendan carefully peeled open the zip-lock bag Wally's mother had sent them and pulled out two of the four sandwiches. They would last the rest of the day, but after that, they would have to feed themselves again.<p>

Oh, how he would miss her cooking.

A scaly, clawed hand reached around his shoulder eagerly to grab at the two remaining sandwiches, but Brendan whipped them out of reach with a scowl. "Orion, those are for May! Go eat your Pokechow."

"Blaze!" Orion said, pouting. He stuffed a handful of the brown kibble in his beak, yet he continued to eye the sandwiches longingly.

Brendan checked the time on his Pokenav for the thousandth time, seeing that almost an hour had passed without a peep from May. If he weren't a gentleman and all, he would gladly offer up her food to his pokemon. She deserved it after rushing off into the woods stubbornly and without a clue.

Brendan sighed. He hadn't always been such a worrywart. In fact, he had passed through Petalburg Woods all alone when he was only a beginner. He'd had no other pokemon except for Orion, back when he was still a torchic, and _him_.

His current team formed a rough circle around him. Orion had finished all of his Pokechow, and he was now arguing with Neptune over the rest of his. Knox watched the argument silently, although he seemed quite amused if Brendan looked at his expression hard enough. Iris stepped forward, clearing growling for them to shut up. However, Neptune took a swipe at Orion and accidentally raked his claws against her shell, which immediately drew her into the fight as well.

A tornado of glowing leaves abruptly shot at the trio, and the force of it sent them scattering to opposite edges of the campsite. Acumi hummed in satisfaction and leaned her long neck around so she could lick Brendan's cheek, as if nothing had happened.

Brendan gave her a pat on the side of the neck, amused. Although the empty feeling had not left him (Or, he thought, his pokemon), at least he could enjoy time with his team without wallowing in depression. A year ago, he had barely been able to even look at any of them without feeling shame.

He checked the time again. It had officially been an hour.

Orion, Iris, and Neptune wandered back towards where the firewood was assembled, looking ruffled and annoyed. Brendan stared contemplatively at all five of his pokemon. He was going to have to send someone to check on that troublesome girl.

Orion was the obvious choice, because he both liked May and she seemed the most comfortable around him. However, Brendan figured she deserved to be uncomfortable at the moment.

"Hey, Knox," he said. "Could you go find May?"

"Dusknoirrr," Knox chanted eerily, and then his body literally disappeared as he went to do his trainer's bidding.

* * *

><p>May was desperately lost.<p>

Her chest was beginning to tighten with panic. After running so blindly from the shroomish, she had tried and tried to find the road again, but it was all in vain. She had stumbled into the truly wild part of the forest, and she was stuck. She had no way to call Brendan, and she was afraid to send Soren away to look for the path while Demi was unable to protect her. Even her backpack with all of her supplies was lying back at camp.

"_Lost in a scary dark forest by week two…."_ May thought, laughing uneasily to herself.

Deciding she might feel a bit better if she wasn't so alone, she tapped the release button on Soren's pokeball. The white light dimmed to reveal the treecko, and his yellow eyes still seemed panicked from the encounter with the shroomish.

May immediately picked him up, just wanting to feel close to someone. "We're lost," she said, and her voice sounded weak even to her own ears.

"Treecko…" he said, looking around warily.

"If we keep walking, we'll have to find something eventually… Right?" May asked. Soren shrugged uncertainly, so she sighed and cautiously began moving again. As if someone was answering her prayers, she rounded the very next tree and caught sight of a man wearing a suit, of all things.

The guy couldn't have looked more out of place if he had tried. His green suit was wrinkle and dirt free, which May had no idea how he had managed with him being so far into the forest. His hair, a dark brown color, was gelled perfectly to his head, and he was glancing around as if he were searching for something.

"Oh, why hello there!" he said, dusting a nonexistent speck of dirt off of his pants when he saw her. He laughed, which jostled the nametag pinned to his chest. It read _"Devon Corporation: Ronald" _in plain letters_._

"Uh, hi," May said awkwardly. She was thrilled to see him, really, but she couldn't help but remember her father's words about being cautious. This man didn't seem dangerous, though…

"You wouldn't happen to have seen a pokemon called shroomish around here, would you?" Ronald asked, his face hopeful. May could see that he was not a trainer, for he lacked any visible supplies or pokeballs. All he carried was a simple briefcase.

"Unfortunately…" she grumbled, recalling the evil little shroomish that had caused her to get into this predicament in the first place.

Ronald didn't seem to hear her, for he continued. "They're my favorite pokemon, but I can never find one. That's actually how I ended up here… I was supposed to make my delivery as quickly as possible, but I thought I saw one and I couldn't resist taking a second look."

"So you don't know the way out?" May asked, disappointed.

"Oh, not at all," Ronald said. He frowned, although he seemed significantly less disturbed about being lost than she was. "Perhaps I can pick up a map on my Pokenav-"

"There you are!" a gruff voice bellowed. May jumped in surprise at the sudden sound, and her peripheral vision revealed a dark-skinned figure storming out of the trees. His face was twisted into a dangerous scowl.

Soren tensed at once, and May couldn't help but see why. If she had thought Ronald looked strange, then this guy was something else altogether. A black bandana was wrapped around his head, and it had the rough symbol of an 'A' emblazoned in its center. His shirt and socks were white with broad blue stripes, and his ratty pants were cut off at the knees. He looked rather like a pirate that had escaped from his ship.

"I've been waiting for days to ambush you, and you had to dawdle like a moron in this damn woods!" the man shouted, and Ronald practically quivered under his gaze. "Just hand over the package and I won't hurt you or the girl!"

To May's shock, Ronald leapt behind her and grasped her shoulders, terrified. "Oh, you're a trainer, aren't you? Please, help me! I can't let him take this package!"

"Um…" May's heart pounded fearfully in her chest when the pirate-like man turned his full attention to her. He snorted, catching her off guard.

"Please. Like this puny girl could stop me."

Courage that May didn't really know she had suddenly came bubbling to the surface alongside her anger. She was not puny, she was not weak, and she sure wasn't helpless! She was sick and tired of people treating her that way.

"Get him, Soren," May said, glaring at the man.

Apparently, the guy didn't take the hint, for he dared to take a step towards her. Soren hissed threateningly from deep in his throat and jumped at him, smacking him roughly on the arm with his tail. He flipped to the ground gracefully and poised himself protectively between the man and May.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna play, huh?" the man said darkly, rubbing his injured arm. He snagged the only pokeball off of his belt and threw it forcefully to the ground in front of Soren.

A poochyena materialized, snarling just like his trainer. Upon seeing Soren, he immediately surged forward, fangs flashing. Just in the nick of time, the treecko darted out of the way, only to be snapped at yet again. This time, Soren smacked his mouth away with his tail before jumping a good distance from his opponent.

"Shake it off and tackle it, Poochyena!"

Poochyena rubbed at his sore jaw with his paw, and then he growled at Soren with renewed vigor. He ran forward, black paws digging into the ground with the force of his movements.

"Absorb, Soren!" May cried, balling her hands into fists nervously.

Soren stayed where he was, managing to maintain a significant calm for a pokemon who was about to get mowed over. He closed his eyes in concentration, and a white light glowed off of his skin. Gradually, it appeared on Poochyena's as well. Globs of energy began floating off of the dark type and back to Soren, but the attack took too long. Poochyena slammed into him, only partially slowed down by the loss of so much power, and sent him careening into the trunk of a nearby tree.

Soren grunted upon impact, and when he crawled to his feet, May could see that his back had been scraped by the bark. A few feet away, Poochyena's limbs were quivering. Apparently, the absorb had done more damage than she had thought.

"You've got him cornered, now bite his brains out!" the crook demanded, pointing towards the weakened Soren.

He was right; Soren was trapped among a tight grove of trees. May began to panic, but then she remembered one of the key things that made treecko so special.

"Climb that tree, Soren!" she said quickly.

Despite the fact that he was injured, Soren spun around and shimmied up the trunk faster than lightening. Within seconds, he was nestled safely on a branch that was far out of Poochyena's reach. He made a taunting face down at the enraged canine.

Soren then began leaping from tree to tree, leaving the poochyena to helplessly run around barking on the ground beneath him. Although it was satisfying to watch, May knew they couldn't win just by running their opponent around in circles.

"Use another absorb!"

He paused, and his skin began growing white again. However, the light off of Poochyena was significantly dimmer, and nothing of significance was drained from him. Soren was too far away.

May frowned. A pound attack from so high would be the most effective, but Poochyena was just so much heavier than Soren. If he managed to get him in his jaws, the battle might be over. It was times like this when she really wished he had another range attack to work with.

A brilliant idea suddenly occurred to May- if only it would work.

"Soren, get to that branch over there!" she ordered, pointing to a thinner branch two limbs away from where he already was. If he was confused at her request, he didn't show it, and he hopped over to her chosen spot easily.

Predictably, Poochyena trailed after him, but his trainer had had enough. He stomped his foot furiously.

"That's enough! Do something, you useless pokemon!" he screamed.

Poochyena desperately reared up on his hind legs so that his two front paws were propped up on the tree directly below Soren. He nipped at the air uselessly. May crossed her fingers, hoping her luck held out for just a bit longer.

"Use pound attack to break that branch, but don't fall out of the tree!" she begged.

Soren's eyes brightened in understanding. He crawled up the trunk of the tree so that he was a couple feet above the branch before swiveling back around to crash his tail into its base. With a loud crack, it broke off and fell to the ground, straight towards the poochyena waiting below it.

Poochyena realized all too late what was coming for him. He attempted to scramble out of the way, but not before the limb slammed into him with a crash and a series of pained yelps.

Above him, Soren still clung to the trunk of the tree. He peered down at the still body of the poochyena, clearly trying to decide if it was safe for him to come down or not. After a moment, the man groaned and recalled his pokemon, and May knew they had won.

Soren jumped happily into her arms, and she squeezed him tightly, relieved. Behind her, Ronald tapped on her shoulder excitedly. She had almost forgotten he was there.

Unfortunately, the pirate-man wasn't planning on letting them get away so easily.

"I might've lost the battle, but that treecko's just as puny as you! I can just take the package myself," he roared, starting forwards.

May stiffened, and Soren turned in her grip. His body was bruised and beaten, yet she knew he was prepared to try to fight off the large man if necessary.

Abruptly, something eerily cold wafted in from behind she and Ronald. The pirate man paused, a look of pure terror overtaking his face. He stared at something over their heads for a moment before sprinting off in the opposite direction.

May almost didn't want to turn around and face whatever monster was scary enough to send such an intimidating man running, but she slowly inched her head around. A gray, skull-like face peered back at her, and her heart gave a thrill of fright before she realized it was just Knox.

Wait… Knox had come to find her! She was safe!

"Ahhh!" Ronald screeched, latching onto May's arm in a death grip. He had finally noticed the dusknoir's presence.

"Hey, it's aright! It's just my friend's pokemon," May exclaimed. With difficulty, she pried Ronald's hands off of her.

"Oh," Ronald said shakily. He took a cautionary step back from Knox, but he focused his gaze on May. "Thank you so much for helping me. I don't know what I would've done without you!"

"Lose your briefcase?" she said, without really meaning to. She was glad she had helped him, honestly, but he was starting to get on her nerves. Ronald stared at her, aghast at the very idea, so she strung on an awkward laugh to try to make it sound better.

He shook his head, and then he fished around in the pocket of his suit for a moment before pulling out a shiny greatball, which he held out to her. Hesitantly, May allowed him to drop it into her hands.

"Oh, thank you," she said uncomfortably. Greatballs were expensive, and she hadn't really expected him to own such an item, much less to thank her with one.

"It's the least I can do," Ronald assured her. "This package is more important than you can imagine!"

May seriously doubted it would amount to anything for her, but she didn't say that. She simply smiled at him in what she hoped was a thankful way.

"Noir," Knox said in a chilling whisper. May felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she saw Ronald shudder.

"Um, I guess I'd better go," she said. Knox's interruption had called her attention to the fact that darkness was falling, and fast.

"Can you find your way? I could probably lead you out," Ronald said. He pulled out a shiny Pokenav and squinted down at it. "Probably."

"No thanks. Knox will take me back to my camp," May said, really wishing it wasn't Knox. She would've enjoyed anyone's company more, even Ronald's!

Well, maybe Iris would have been worse. She still wondered if the shelgon wouldn't like to have her for an afternoon snack.

"Okay. Well, I need to get back to Rustboro, pronto. Thanks again!" Ronald said, still inspecting his Pokenav screen as he headed off into the trees. May hoped he managed to actually get out of the forest and finally complete his oh-so-important delivery.

"So, um," May began, turning to Knox uncomfortably. "Ready?"

"Dusk," he said, and his red eye glinted eerily. He treaded through the trees, his feet seeming to glide rather than actually touch the ground.

Thoroughly crept out, May followed after him. Soren shifted in her arms to meet her eyes, and although he didn't seem quite as freaked out by Knox as she was, she could tell he was also put off by the ghost type. Silently, she vowed not to add any ghosts to her team.

Weird as he was, Knox served his purpose. Not a peep was heard from any wild pokemon during their journey, probably because they were all just as scared as May was. Within mere minutes, she could see the comforting glow of their campfire through the undergrowth.

Brendan sat on a log near the fire, where he appeared to be checking the time on his Pokenav. His hat was off, allowing his black hair to stick up freely, and his pokemon lounged around the campsite in various positions. He looked up abruptly at their arrival, his brown eyes glowing ruby from the flames.

"What happened to you?" he asked, surprisingly concerned.

For the first time, May thought about what she must look like. There were twigs in her hair, and her sneakers were smudged with mud from her frantic run. Worst of all was Soren, who still looked thoroughly beat up in her arms.

She plopped down heavily next to Brendan, and Knox floated off somewhere into the shadows. "Long story," she said tiredly.

Brendan raised his eyebrows, silently urging her for more detail. May sighed, preparing to tell him everything, but then her hand suddenly shot to her pokeball belt in concern. She had almost forgotten about Demi!

Sitting Soren down next to her, she released Demi into her arms. The azurill appeared, and just as May feared, she didn't look very well. Her fur was tinted a sickly purple, and shudders racked her tiny body.

"Oh," May said worriedly. Any knowledge from trainer's school mangically evaporated from her mind in her flustered state, and there were no pokemon centers around! She was a terrible trainer. No wonder her parents wouldn't let her do anything!

Beside her, Brendan was rummaging around in his backpack. After a moment, he pulled out some unfamiliar bottles of what looked like medication and lined them up. Unlike May, he remained extremely calm.

"What pokemon did it?" he asked, eyes darting between Demi and the labels on the bottles.

"Shroomish," May managed to reply through her panic.

"Here," Brendan said, gently pulling the shivering azurill from her arms and into his lap. He quietly convinced her to swallow a few pills from one of his bottles. "It's fine. Poisoning isn't that hard to heal. She might be a little weak for a day or two, though."

Slowly, Demi's breathing eased, and she seemed to glow a little healthier. He handed her back to May, and then he peered down at Soren. Muttering quietly to himself, he selected another bottle. He dipped his fingers into it and started to move his hand towards Soren, but he seemed to think better of that idea when he caught sight of the treecko's glaring eyes.

"You might want to do this," Brendan said dryly, handing the medicine to May. He wiped his fingers on his shorts. "It's for cuts."

"Oh-Okay," May said, heart still reeling from her previous worry. She dabbed her hands into the goo before rubbing it carefully onto the scales on Soren's back, where the bark had scraped him.

"Thank you," May said to Brendan when she was done, and a warm feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach. Although it hurt her pride to admit it, she didn't know what she would've done without his help. She'd probably still be lost in the woods with two badly injured pokemon.

"I'm pretty awesome, I know," he said dismissively, back to his normal self. May let out an annoyed breath of air, which he ignored. "So are you gonna tell me what happened?"

"Well, I got lost," May started. "And I ran into this guy who worked for some really big company- Oh, I can't remember what it's called."

"Devon?" Brendan guessed.

"Yeah, that one! Anyway, some other guy jumped out at us and tried to steal his briefcase. Me and Soren fought him, and he ran away."

Brendan furrowed his brow, looking incredibly troubled. "What? Are you crazy? Why would you do that?"

May was caught off guard. She knew what she had done was dangerous, but in the end it was a good deed, wasn't it? Shouldn't Brendan be just a little bit proud of her?

"He needed help!" she cried defensively. "And he said whatever was in his package was really important."

"Of course it was important. He might've gotten fired without it." Brendan rolled his eyes. He shook his head, and a thoughtful expression overtook his incredulous one. "But why would someone want to steal it…?"

"I don't know, but I think he was a wacko anyway." May snorted out an unladylike laugh, remembering his odd outfit. "He looked like a pirate. Literally."

"Wait, was it like a uniform? What did it look like?" Brendan asked, seeming confused.

"Uh, I don't know. Blue-striped shirt, black headband," she said, shrugging. Wasn't the fact that he looked like a pirate amusing enough without going into specifics?

"That sounds like Team Aqua," he said, frowning. "They're these crazy ocean activists, but I've never heard of them _attacking_ anybody. He must have been just a rogue member, if that's who he was. I'll have to keep Knox out tonight in case he comes back."

May had no idea, but what was it to her, anyway? She had nothing to do with this Team Aqua, and as far as she was concerned, her little moment of heroism had passed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I swear my characters just take over for themselves sometimes. They're just like, "No, Alphinia, we can't get on with the plot! What a ridiculous idea. We want to run our mouths and hopefully bond some more!"

On a more serious note, I really wanted to show here that Brendan and May ARE becoming friends, and they do care about one another. They tend to argue a lot, but I didn't want it to be one of those things where they do nothing BUT argue.

I also recently realized that I OVERUSE THE SAME NAMES. I had the Devon worker named Robert (So if you see that in place of Ronald anywhere, please let me know), which I mentioned in passing as Professor Birch's first name. I also did a similar thing (By unfortunate coincidence, this time) with Brendan's mom. Lisa Birch. And then there's contest idol Lisia. ORAS hadn't come out yet when I wrote the chapters with Lisa in it, so I claim innocence on this one!

Lastly, I've been adding playlists to the wiki. Know any good songs that remind you of a character or the story in general? Let me know in a review or PM!

**Which game villains were the best and why? **(Aqua/Magma and Team Rocket are kind of tied, mostly out of nostalgia. I did like how unique Cipher was though. See, this is why my chapters get so dang long winded; I can't make up my mind!)


	9. Chapter 8: A Rocky Road

Thanks for the reviews last chapter! Special shout out to my anonymous reviewers, who I can't reply to personally like I do everyone else. You guys should all get accounts so I can respond to your comments!

Also, let me know if you see anything weird with the formatting (Or any mistakes on my part). The upload randomly broke up a line last time!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: A Rocky Road<strong>

May and Brendan were crossing a long, wooden bridge over a vast lake (Brendan had told her its name, but it had already slipped her mind) when she first caught a glimpse of Rustboro City's skyscrapers above the treetops.

Even though May was still slightly wary about large cities, the signs of civilization were welcome ones. They had spent over a week traversing Petalburg Woods, and she couldn't wait for a nice hot shower and a warm bed. Better food would be fantastic, too.

Although her ferry to Hoenn had docked in Rustboro's harbor, she hadn't managed to get a decent look at the city the first time around. It had been dark, and she was still all doom and gloom about her move back then. When she finally reached Rustboro for the second time, it was like nothing she had ever seen.

Everything from the tallest apartment building to the city's walkways was designed out of smooth stone. The rocks were carved beautifully in varying shades of gray, some far more ornate than others. The elegant simplicity gave an old-town feel, which was an odd combination with the otherwise modern metropolis. In the northwestern corner of the city, May could make out one glorious building that towered over all the others

"That's the headquarters for the Devon Corporation," Brendan explained, following her wide-eyed gaze. "I think the gym's pretty close to it, actually."

"Oh yeah, the gym," May said in a small voice.

Brendan nodded, only halfway paying attention to her. He squinted at a board near the city's entrance, and it seemed to be detailing where all the important areas were located. He sought out one of the pokemon centers (Yes, there were actually multiples in such a large place! Who Knew?) with his pointer finger. Luckily, he made sense of the map, for he adjusted his backpack straps on his shoulders and started off determinedly in a particular direction.

May followed, her mind on her approaching battle.

When she had first left her house, the fact that she was going to face gym leaders to earn her right to challenge the League had thrilled her. She couldn't wait to get started and finally prove her worth. However, now that her dream was actually within reach, reality was suddenly crashing down on her. May knew she wasn't a bad trainer, but gym leaders weren't like the greenhorn trainers she had battled on the road; they were _good_.

"Um," May began, biting her lip nervously. "She uses rock types, you say?"

Brendan glanced at her weirdly. "Yeah, I told you that like three times. I thought you'd been practicing for it?"

May had, or so she had thought up until this moment. She had been trying to teach Soren bullet seed so that he wouldn't have to rely on contact moves so much, and they had had varying degrees of success. He was decent at it for having learnt it so recently, but it wasn't yet as powerful as it could be.

And Demi, she was even less prepared! May had laid low on her training for a few days to allow for recovery from her poisoning, and she had less practice than Soren in the first place!

Oh, she felt so unprepared!

"Yeah, but do you remember what pokemon she uses?" May asked.

Crap, what if it was an onix? She _really _hoped it wasn't an onix. It would squash her tiny pokemon.

"It's been a long time." Brendan frowned, the way he always did when May broached the topic of his past career as a trainer. "And I'm sure she's switched up her team since then. She was pretty new when I battled her."

"But how strong was she?" she urged. They had reached the pokemon center sometime during May's internal crisis. It was far larger and grander than the one she had stayed in in Oldale, yet she barely noticed as they passed through the sliding doors.

"Well, beating her won't be easy, but-"

"Ugh," May wailed. "I haven't trained enough! I'm gonna lose and be a failure! I-"

"Calm down," Brendan snapped. "You're fine."

He stepped up to the counter and handed his trainer card over for the nurse to scan, muttering something about needing a room for two. The lady watched them cautiously from her computer screen as she checked them in. After a few seconds, she handed him a room key.

"Have a nice evening," the nurse said meekly.

"Wait, can you take my pokemon for a checkup?" May asked, holding her two pokeballs across the counter. The nurse nodded, taking them and saying they would be ready for pickup in an hour or so before ushering them away.

Brendan led her through the large lobby and past several trainers. Unlike those in the Oldale Center, these people came in all varieties. Obviously, there were travelers from all sorts of places in Rustboro, but Brendan seemed much less intrigued than May was. He passed right by them and traveled down a hall to their room.

They opened their door to find a modest, yet relatively nice room with two small twin beds and a connecting bathroom. May set her bag on one of the beds absentmindedly.

"But I don't know if I'm fine," May admitted, finally responding to Brendan's earlier comment.

Brendan sighed. "Look, you've trained every single day. You're already better than a lot of trainers."

May shuffled unsurely. She knew she must look pretty pitiful if Brendan was giving her a pep talk, but her worry about the gym somehow overcame her desire to look strong.

"But am I as good as Roxanne?" she asked, running a finger over the stitching on her comforter with a troubled expression.

"Only one way to find out," Brendan said honestly, shrugging. Seeing that his comment did nothing to improve matters, he pulled his hat down further over his head in exasperation. "It might help if you go watch one of her battles. They're open to citizens, and it might make you feel better if you know how she fights."

May brightened, feeling considerably better already. She tugged on Brendan's sleeve. "Great, let's go! Um, you are taking me, right?"

"Do I have a choice?" he grumbled grouchily. May pretended not to hear him, and he followed her back outside nonetheless.

After checking the map in the pokemon center, they started towards Rustboro's northern half, where the gym was located. May felt strangely naked without her pokemon, never having left them behind anywhere since starting her journey. She knew nothing was going to attack her in the midst of the city, yet she still missed them.

After they entered the main street, they were immediately surrounded by people that pushed by them briskly, as if they were in the way. Brendan seemed annoyed, although May was mostly shocked at the behavior. In the little towns she was familiar with, everything was much more slow-paced and genuine.

Frustrated with most of the surrounding crowd, May tried to focus on the city itself. They passed several shops with interesting looking objects in their windows. If not for the dominating priority of preparing for her gym battle, Brendan probably would have had to drag May away from all of the displays.

Before she knew it, they had reached an imposing, sleek building. Like the rest of the city, it was carved primarily out of gray stone, yet it stood out in that it had beautiful orange colored gemstones woven in the roof and around its sharpest edges. Just above the door, the symbol of the Hoenn League was drawn, labeling it as an official pokemon gym.

"_Oh Suicune,"_ was May's initial reaction. Secondly, she thought, _"Maybe Dad should take some decorating lessons from Roxanne."_

"These are automatic doors, so don't worry about knocking," Brendan said, carrying her out of her thoughts. At first, she was irritated at the jab, but one look showed that the smirk on his lips was more playful than mean.

"Ha, ha," May replied, unable to think of a superior comeback. She sounded much more confident than she really felt, but Brendan didn't say anything, instead stepping through to the gym.

Impressive statues of rock pokemon and fossil displays lined the walls, and surprisingly, the entrance branched off down several different hallways. A receptionist sat behind a desk in the center of the room, surrounded by traveler' manuals and lots of important looking paperwork.

May looked around, absolutely lost, but Brendan nudged her down the front hall. They neared an impressive set of double doors, although they didn't go through them. Instead, he veered them off towards a smaller side entrance that led to a set of bleachers.

An immense, rocky battlefield encompassed the majority of the room. Bright lights illuminated the ceiling as well, revealing a beautiful depiction of ancient rock types in mid battle. Their figures were carved straight into the stone that made up the building.

May trailed after Brendan to take a seat on the cold, hard metal bench, her attention held by the female figure standing on the far side of the gym. She appeared to be wearing a school uniform, of all things, and her long chocolate hair was tied out of her face with twin ribbons. The girl was only a few years older than her, twenty at the most, and she held herself with a calm confidence that made her seem much older than she really was. Without asking, May had no doubt it was Roxanne.

A woman with excited young children meandered in to join May and Brendan on the mostly empty bleachers before the challenger finally arrived. May bit her lip nervously, watching as the young boy exchanged words with the gym leader. Roxanne ushered over someone, and a battle judge appeared to explain the rules to the boy.

May leaned forward, straining desperately to hear, but they were too far away. She scrunched up her eyebrows in frustration.

"Careful, don't hurt yourself," Brendan commented, quirking his lips. She shot him a halfhearted glare, and he smirked. "All he's saying is that you use two pokemon, first to defeat both the other's pokemon wins, blah blah blah."

"I _know_ that," May said. She did, sort of. From the little Brendan had discussed about Roxanne, she had assumed it, and she hoped he would've mentioned if she didn't have enough pokemon to battle her.

"Mmhm," he said, in an irritating manner. She pursed her lips, ready to argue with him, but he nodded towards the battlefield. "Look, it's already started."

A sturdy geodude sat in front of Roxanne. It looked strong, but May couldn't help but be relieved that it wasn't the onix she had been petrified of having to beat. Across from her, the boy had released a shrimpy looking zigzagoon, of all things.

"Oh boy," Brendan muttered. He frowned down at the battlefield as the pokemon began moving around one another.

"Maybe it knows iron tail, or something?" May suggested optimistically. Geodude punched Zigzagoon in the face, sending it flying into the far wall. She winced.

To Zigzagoon's credit, it struggled back upright before running fiercely back towards Geodude. The rock type never budged, allowing Zigzagoon to run straight into it. The striped pokemon collided with him head on, and it briefly went still before letting out a cry of pain and kneeling over in a faint.

"So I guess it didn't know iron tail," May said, watching Geodude flex with uneasy eyes. "Maybe he's counting on his second pokemon! Yeah, that has to be it!"

The little boy on the battlefield called out his next pokemon, scowling. A nincada appeared, looking very squish-able next to the heavy geodude.

"Oh boy," May echoed Brendan's early sentiment. She almost felt worried for the nasty bug type- imagine that!

Geodude didn't go straight in for the kill this time. Instead, it began ripping massive rocks out of the ground and hurling them at its opponent. May put her hands over her eyes, occasionally peeping out through a tiny crack in between her fingers.

Amazingly, the nincada crawled out from behind a particularly large boulder, shuddering but unharmed. May let out a tense breath of air. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brendan watching her bemusedly.

Nincada used a move similar to Soren's absorb attack (leech life, maybe), and Geodude let out a mere grunt of irritation before pumping his fists and curling into a ball. It rolled forwards, flattening Nincada completely.

"Both of the challenger's pokemon are unable to battle. Roxanne wins!" the battle judge announced, his microphone ringing loudly throughout the gym. The little kids on the bleachers next to them cheered excitedly for Roxanne.

"Waaah!" the challenger screamed, tears rolling down his face. He recalled his fallen pokemon and ran sobbing from the gym.

Brendan groaned, slapping his hands over his eyes.

"I'm doomed," May announced. Her face paled dramatically. "I might as well turn around and go back home now. Maybe if I'm lucky Dad will let me check in trainers to his gym or something, because no way do I want to-"

"Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best example," Brendan cut across her quickly, standing up. He had a grumpy look on his face. "Roxanne's good, but she's beatable!"

"She creamed him!" May cried, waving her hands in the air as they walked out the door.

He sighed. "So? I know you're better than that guy."

She took a deep, calming breath. Brendan was right. That boy wasn't her, and she'd waited way too long for this to give up without even trying.

"Okay. I'll sign up to battle her tomorrow. Might as well get it over with."

* * *

><p>May stood outside the gym at ten the next morning. Her clothes were freshly cleaned, and she had groomed her hair to lie perfectly straight atop her shoulders.<p>

She stared down at Soren and Demi, her sapphire eyes determined but tinged with a touch of badly concealed nervousness.

"Alright guys. This is it," she said, trying to keep her voice from wavering. "This is gonna be hard, but we can do it!"

"Zur, ril!" Demi squealed, bopping her tail enthusiastically.

Soren cocked his head at her questioningly, staring at her with his cold golden eyes. May shifted uneasily under his gaze, hoping he couldn't sense how nervous she really was. After a moment, he blinked and nodded his head with a cool resolution.

May managed a smile before returning them back to their balls. She wished they could walk in alongside her, but she could just imagine the harping voice of her dad (And probably Brendan, as well) if she let Roxanne see her pokemon before battling her.

"You're gonna be late," Brendan piped up from behind her.

The boy had been in a peculiarly bad mood ever since visiting the gym the day before, so she was a bit surprised that he had even come to watch her battle at all. May had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with bringing up old memories, but she was smart enough to keep from mentioning it. For the time being, at least.

"Let's go in, then," May said, too uneasy for any smart-alecky remark.

She walked inside, intending to head for the service desk to say she was here for her battle appointment, but the lady manning it stood up and marched over to her before she could.

"Are you May?" she said sharply.

"Um, yes," May said, glancing around uncomfortably.

"Well go on then, everyone's waiting for you!" the woman barked, grabbing her shoulders forcefully and steering her off down a side hall instead of towards the battlefield. May turned around, peering back desperately at Brendan, but he remained in the lobby. He waved a cheeky farewell to her before making his way to the actual battlefield.

"W-what are we-"

The lady shoved her into a classroom, of all things. Two other people sat in the desks. One was a girl approximately May's age, and she was ringing her hands, looking like she could burst out crying at any second. The other was a slightly younger guy. He was twirling a pencil between his fingers, and his demeanor was bordering on cocky.

A stern man standing at the front of the classroom turned to glare at her. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, at last. Sit down, will you?"

Hesitantly, May perched on the edge of one of the seats.

"As you may or may not be aware," the man began pompously, looking over his nose at the upset girl. "Roxanne requires her challengers to pass a written exam before accepting their challenge. The highest grade gets to go first."

"_Thanks for the warning, Brendan,"_ May thought darkly. No wonder he had seemed so amused.

May took a deep breath as the man handed out test booklets and pencils to those who needed them. She didn't really appreciate the throwback to trainer's school, but she felt relatively confident. She had been a good student for the most part, and she had done her fair share of reading up on Hoenn pokemon since she started her journey. Plus, Norman had been drilling pokemon knowledge into her head since the moment she was born. As long as the test wasn't ridiculously hard, she thought she could pass.

Bracing herself, she read over the first question.

_Which of the following is known as the Whisper Pokemon?_

May tapped her pencil against her cheek in thought. It wasn't shroomish or geodude; those didn't make any sense. The remaining two options were whismur and surskit, neither of which she could really remember much about. After a moment of contemplation, she filled in the bubble for whismur, going with the logic that its name sort of sounded like whisper if she stretched it far enough.

_Which option best describes vigoroth's temperament? _

May almost laughed. That was an easy one.

She continued on, only occasionally coming across questions she had no clue on. Others were common knowledge, such as which type was the most effective against electric.

_Which habitat can sableye NOT be found in?_

"_What's a sableye again?"_ May pondered, frowning. _"Oh well, I haven't used C in a while."_

May was the second to turn her paper in, standing up minutes after the cocky boy. They had to wait for a while on the other girl, who kept biting her nails nervously and shaking her head. Finally, she handed her exam to the instructor with a gloomy expression.

The man left to run the papers through the grading machine, leaving the three teens to their own devices. "Oh, Kyogre, I failed! Roxanne will be so disappointed in me!" the other girl wailed, pulling at her blond hair.

No one responded to her. May was far too anxious about her own test, which she thought she did alright on but couldn't help but stress over anyway. The boy simply rolled his eyes at her in disgust and turned away.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for very long. The man walked back in, shuffling the papers ominously. Clearly enjoying their looks of fear, he slowly walked by them, handing them back their tests with vague mumblings under his breath.

May squinted her eyes at first, scared to see her grade. Bracing herself, she opened them and took in the number written on the paper. "91" was marked in bold red ink at the top of her test.

"Yes!" she couldn't help but exclaim. The others' heads snapped to her at once, causing her cheeks to tint pink.

"What did you get?" the boy asked, peering over her shoulder with nosy eyes. Sulkily, he spat, "Dang it! I got an 85."

"I knew I failed," the blond girl cried.

"Alright, Red. Looks like you're first," the instructor said, waving his finger at her bandana. May bit her lip.

She was minutes away from battling Roxanne.

* * *

><p>May gulped, taking her place on the battlefield. It looked a lot bigger than it had from the sidelines the day before. Instinctively, she glanced around for Brendan, and she soon spotted him sitting alone in the bleachers.<p>

"Hello," a voice said. May jumped slightly, startled. Roxanne was standing across the battlefield, watching her with large cocoa colored eyes. Up close, she looked so much sterner, as if she were an old, wise woman trapped in a young body.

"I'm Roxanne, the leader of Rustboro Gym," she continued, inclining her head ever so slightly.

"I'm your challenger," May blurted awkwardly. "Um, I'm May M- just May.

At the last second, she decided to keep her last name to herself. Roxanne would surely recognize it, and Norman had plainly told her not to go around telling people that she was his daughter.

Whatever his real reasoning was, she decided to listen to him.

Roxanne stared at her curiously. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

"No, no definitely not!" May said quickly, avoiding the older girl's gaze.

People had always told her that she favored her mother more, although she did have her dad's face shape. May was sure she wasn't picking up on it that easily, though. Either Roxanne was confusing her with someone else, or she had seen a photograph of her sometime from Norman.

"Hmm. Okay then," Roxanne said. Her voice wasn't unfriendly, but she didn't smile. "Shall we begin?"

May managed a nod. She grabbed a pokeball in her hands, and then she realized it was Soren's instead of Demi's, who she had intended to use first. Quickly, she switched them out.

"Both the challenger and the gym leader may use two pokemon each, and whoever defeats both of her opponent's pokemon first will be the victor. Only the challenger is allowed substitutions," a judge called from the sidelines, his tone professional.

"Geodude, come on," Roxanne called calmly, releasing the same geodude from the day before. He grunted and pounded his rocky fists into the ground beneath him.

May shut her eyes momentarily, fingers brushing the emerald charm bracelet Norman had given her. Oh, how she hoped it really did bring her some good luck.

"Let's go, Demi!" she said, tossing Demi's pokeball out in front of her. The room was illuminated in white light, which dimmed to reveal the bouncing azurill. She was smiling as usual, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

"Not a bad choice," Roxanne complimented. "Alright Geodude, get things started with a rollout!"

Geodude locked itself into a ball and shot forwards, rolling like a bowling ball towards Demi. Rocks and dirt clouded the air as he moved.

"Demi, bounce over him!" May cried, too late. Luckily, Demi had already gathered the sense to dodge. She swung her tail like a lasso, and the greater weight of the blue ball sent her smaller body flying just out of harm's way.

Unfortunately, she misjudged the maneuverability of the battlefield. She had landed herself in front of some large boulders, leaving little space for her to move when Geodude sprung back up to glare at her.

"Again," Roxanne ordered.

"Use bubble!" May cried quickly.

Demi watched the approaching Geodude with a worried expression, yet she spat a river of bubbles at him nonetheless. True to her training, her aim was spot on and the bubbles popped forcefully against Geodude's hide.

"Dude," the rock type grunted, uncurling from his ball.

Much to May's distress, he seemed relatively unharmed by Demi's attack. Instead of continuing his rollout assault, he threw himself forward with his arms and crashed into Demi. The tiny azurill went flying, trapped between the rocks behind her and Geodude's weighty body.

"Demi!" May cried, fear evident in both her expression and her voice. "Use bubble in his face! Get him off!"

Demi wiggled uselessly, looking from her trainer to her winning opponent with scared black eyes. Desperately, she blew bubbles at Geodude, but it was a much smaller stream and they splattered against him weakly.

"Finish up with another tackle," Roxanne said.

Geodude threw himself into the air with his strong arms, elbows poised to come down on the barely conscious Demi. The move would finish her off if it hit, no question.

"Use charm!" May said randomly. She was grasping at straws at this point; anything to save Demi.

Demi's ears wiggled, signifying that she had heard her trainer's orders. She tried valiantly to smooth the lines of her face and make her eyes as large as possible, but the effect couldn't be pulled off with the undercurrent of doubt in her expression.

Geodude simply shook his head once before crashing down onto Demi, officially knocking her out cold.

Glumly, May recalled the azurill. Geodude was strong. So was Soren, but she had no idea what Roxanne's next pokemon would be. She fingered her treecko's pokeball, praying that he could pull it off, yet she knew he wouldn't have a chance unless she managed to pull herself together first.

"_Focus, May,"_ she told herself as she threw her last pokeball. She had to do this this, both for herself and for her pokemon.

Soren appeared, his face a cool mask of confidence compared to Demi's previous uncertainty. He crossed his thin green arms, watching Geodude with a challenging stare.

"You can do this, Soren," May said, as much for her own sake as his. He glanced back at her and nodded in understanding.

"Use rollout again, Geodude," Roxanne commanded, unaffected by Soren's display.

For the third time, Geodude wrapped his arms around his body and came barreling forwards, yet he was facing a more agile opponent this time around. Soren easily leapt away from him, landing on all fours and preparing to spring again if necessary.

It was all for naught, however; Geodude was unable to change direction so soon after getting going.

"Bullet seed," May said quickly.

Just before Geodude became aware he had missed his target, Soren spat a barrage of glowing yellow seeds at Geodude's retreating back. A few of them collided with the ground with loud 'pops', yet most hit their target.

"Dude!" Geodude cried, for the attack caused him to run off course and crash into a boulder.

For a second, May allowed herself to hope he had been knocked out, but it was all wishful thinking. Geodude jumped back up, glaring.

"Well," Roxanne said, raising her eyebrows. "It seems the real battle has begun. Geodude, show them your rock throw."

Grinning darkly, Geodude used his strong arms to rip the nearby rocks out of the ground. With surprising speed, he began flinging them in Soren's direction, and rocks of all sizes were soon coming down on the grass type like rain.

"Dodge it with your quick attack!" May screamed, her heart leaping into her mouth.

Few other pokemon would've been able to move with the finesse Soren showed next. He darted around on the ground to escape most of the rocks, but in one precarious moment, one boulder hovered over him, inescapable from all sides. Thinking fast, Soren quickly jumped to scamper up the rock before it crushed him, leaving him to twist around the last few in mid leap.

Soren was free falling in the air directly above Geodude when the rock type grew a satisfied expression on his face. He held one last, medium-sized rock in his grip and flung it with all his might at the smaller pokemon, apparently convinced he wouldn't be able to avoid that one.

May clenched her fist. "Use your pound to break that rock!"

Soren had been practicing his pound by breaking rocks for weeks. Skillfully, he managed to spin around in the air so that he was tail first, allowing him to ram into the opposing rock with optimum speed. He winced when it made contact, and for a scary moment May thought the battle was over, yet the pain paid off. The rock cracked into dozens of pieces that fell back down onto Geodude, who tried in vain to shield himself with his arms.

He lifted his hands off of his face when the rocks ceased, only to be faced with a determined treecko. Soren continued with his pound attack, strengthened by the force of his fall, and smacked Geodude directly in the forehead with his powerful tail.

Geodude's mouth dropped open in agony, and his body shuddered before falling over loudly. Soren had beaten him.

"_Yes!_ Go, Soren!" May exclaimed, beaming.

She wanted to just squeeze him and jump up and down, but her smile died drastically when she caught sight of his state. He was panting heavily, and his limbs were trembling slightly. Running circles around Geodude had exhausted him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her face etched with concern. She wanted to win, but not if it was going to seriously damage him in the process.

"Tree," he said obstinately, nodding his head with gritted teeth.

Roxanne returned her fallen pokemon with a strangely appraising expression. "Interesting," she said. "But this second part is the real test."

May didn't really know how things could get much testier than what she had just faced, but Roxanne was already tossing out her second pokeball. A strange, bipedal stone pokemon appeared. It was approximately three feet high, and a red triangular nose took up the majority of its face.

She knew at once that it was something she had never seen before, not in real life at least. Its pokedex entry lingered stubbornly at the back of her mind; all she could remember was something about a magnet.

"Nosepass," it hummed, its voice deep and gravely. It was a male, probably.

"Use block," Roxanne commanded.

Nosepass barely moved, though when he tapped his heavy leg against the ground a quiver went across the gym. Tall rocks sprung up all throughout the battlefield, limiting both the space for Soren to dodge and even May's ability to see what was going on. She had to strain on her tiptoes just to see her pokemon.

"Use absorb!" May tried, hoping that Soren might be able to regain some of his lost energy by stealing it from his opponent.

His body lit up with the tell tale white shimmer, and fragments of life began to drift from him to Nosepass.

"Stop that with your rock tomb!" Roxanne said, pointing her finger towards Soren. She actually seemed to be getting really into the battle at this point.

Huge, angular rocks erupted out of the ground, forcing Soren to stop his attack. Had he reacted a split second later, he would've been completely encased in the jutting rock cage.

"Tree," he sighed tiredly, although he didn't look ready to stop anytime soon. Even if he had wanted to, he couldn't have, for Nosepass soon followed up with another rock tomb on his other side. At the last second, he managed to roll out of the way, but May could see the strain on his face when he stood back up.

"Bullet seed!"

Soren spat a second line of seeds, although they dissolved weakly in the air before even touching Nosepass. He shook his head frantically and tried again, yet nothing came out of his mouth at all this time.

It was all May's fault. She hadn't taken enough time with him to practice the move, and now he wasn't able to use it with low energy.

The shadow of a smirk appeared on Roxanne's lips. "Use thunder wave."

May's mouth dropped open. Did she just say thunder wave? Since when did rock types learn electric moves?

But sure enough, electricity began crackling around Nosepass's nose. It condensed into a stream of yellow light just as Soren finally managed a feeble bullet seed attack. Unfortunately, the electricity easily pushed the seeds aside and traveled down Soren's body. His muscles jerked, unharmed but still thrown off by attack.

"End things with rock tomb, Nosepass," Roxanne said calmly.

"No! Use your quick attack to dodge again!" May cried.

The ground beneath Soren began to quake as rocks shifted around him, and he attempted to jump away as he always did. However, his legs seized up at the movement, still damaged from the thunder wave attack, and he fell to his knees. May could do nothing but watch hopelessly as his tiny form was completely covered by the rock tomb attack.

"Soren!" May yelled despairingly at the unmoving rocks.

Roxanne inclined her head at Nosepass, and the rocks shrunk back into the ground abruptly. Soren lay in their wake, his body frail and unmoving. The attack had taken him out, and the battle was over.

"_We lost,"_ was all May could think.

"Both of the challenger's pokemon are unable to battle. Roxanne wins!" the judge announced.

Shakily, May returned Soren to his pokeball, and a lump formed in her throat. She held back the tears forcefully; she was n_ot _going to cry. She hated crying.

"I'm impressed," Roxanne said, although May could hardly pay attention. "Most people don't get that far."

But did it really matter how far she had gotten in the battle? A failure was still a failure in the end.

"_And I failed."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> SHE LOST? With two type advantages? Yep, because May is still learning, but at least she aced the test I guess. Anyway, battles have never been my strong point, but I've been trying really hard on the ones in this story. If you have any tips, send them my way!

I really wanted to write a scene in the Pretty Petal Flower Shop, but I couldn't seem to wedge it in. Sad day.

**Who's your favorite gym leader and why? **(I don't really have a favorite, but I've been having a ton of fun writing Brawly for this story, if that counts)


	10. Chapter 9: Coach Birch

I've started fixing up a stupid little mistake I've been making, so if thought punctuation seems inconsistent, that's because I'm altering it slightly starting from this chapter (It now has no quotation marks and is only italicized). I'll go back and edit the previous chapters eventually!

With this chapter, we've officially passed the 50,000 words mark! And we're only one gym in. Wow.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Coach Birch<strong>

May sat on her bed in the pokemon center that night after her gym battle, her pajama clad legs tucked under her body. Demi was asleep in her lap, and Soren was leaning against her thigh. The treecko had remained oddly silent since returning from his healing session.

She flipped through the channels on their small TV, barely paying attention to what she was watching. Predictably, her mind was busy racing with thoughts of her defeat.

She had never expected to just_ lose_ so easily after all the work she and her pokemon had done. It was mainly her fault, she knew, even though Soren seemed to be blaming himself. In the end, it was she who was in charge, and she who had failed to keep her cool for a good portion of the match.

The entire situation had left May feeling strangely numb. She didn't know what to do next. She wasn't simply going to give up on being a trainer, but what if she just wasn't cut out to challenge the League?

_I bet Dad never lost that easily,_ she kept thinking.

"Give me the remote," Brendan's voice interrupted her out of her thoughts. He stared at her from his seat on his own bed, looking annoyed. When she saw what was on the TV, she could see why. She had paused it on a boring news program.

May wrinkled her nose at him halfheartedly, but she ended up tossing him the remote anyway.

Since they had returned to the center, he had tried to act like nothing was wrong. Clearly, he wasn't sure what to say to her, and to be honest, she kind of appreciated that he wasn't acting all sympathetic. She knew it would've only made her feel worse.

"-the fire was reported to be caused accidentally by a sleeping slugma, but officials in Lavaridge have guaranteed that they will investigate the situation closely," the reporter on TV was saying. "Now, back to the Aqua-led riot on Petalburg Beach-"

"Wait!" May exclaimed, coming to life. She jumped out of her bed, ignoring Demi's squeal of surprise, and she wrestled the remote back out of Brendan's hands. He stared at her like she was a crazy person, but she pointed to the TV with a stricken expression.

"That's them! That's definitely what that guy was dressed like!" she said, gesturing wildly. She perched on the edge of Brendan's bed, staring intently at the TV.

The news reporter's voiceover continued as the screen flicked to scenes on a small beach. Dozens of people, all of them dressed vaguely like pirates, paraded around in the sand. Some carried picket signs, but all of them held angry expressions.

According to the report, they had been staking out on the beach for almost two weeks, promising to leave only when something or other on local boats was banned. Apparently the boats were posing a danger to migrating pods of wailmer, and Team Aqua's actions had been scaring tourists away.

"They really don't sound that bad," May said doubtfully. Wasn't it a good thing that they wanted to look after the wailmer?

"They're crazy," Brendan corrected, frowning. "They care more about the pokemon in the ocean than they do about other people and pokemon. That guy you battled must've broken off while they were doing this to steal that package. He was probably just broke and thought he'd get some easy cash."

"The riot reached a peek when Team Magma members arrived, engaging the Aquas in a battle."

Next, footage showed a smaller group of red-coated people approach the Team Aqua members, and they exchanged a few clearly heated words before engaging in a ferocious battle. May shook her head disbelievingly.

"What in the world are those weirdoes wearing?" she cried. She knew some of these Hoenn people were odd, but really, these fashion senses were appalling.

Brendan rolled his eyes. "_Really,_ that's what you notice?"

"How can you not notice that?" May asked defensively, indicating the outrageous red coats. "Who are they, anyway?"

"Team Magma," Brendan explained. He looked contemplative. "They're a lot like Team Aqua, but they always preach about preserving the land. I've never seen them fight before, though."

"Luckily, Team Magma arrived before any extensive habitat damage could be done," a man said, appearing on screen for an interview.

The black-haired reporter from before was shoving a microphone eagerly into his face. He wore a dark, expensive looking suit, and his harsh blue eyes cut through the TV like a knife. He had a clean-shaven face, and white blond hair fell over his eyes.

Below him, words appeared on the screen. They read, _"Blaise Steele-Head of the Pokemon Protection Agency."_

"Brendan," May began, and her eyes widened with worry.

"That's the guy from the gym," Brendan said, looking similarly mystified. "Thanking Team Magma too. I don't know why. They're just as bad."

James Steele glanced back at the camera tiredly. "Unfortunately, no arrests have been made as of yet. We would appreciate privacy on the matter from here on out. Thank you."

"Next up, an interview with Lisia, Hoenn's Sweetheart-"

May tuned the TV out them, glancing at Brendan. He was staring absently into space, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. Why Norman seemed so concerned about Blaise Steele, probably. That was definitely what _she_ was worrying about, at least.

Suddenly, she realized she was sitting still on Brendan's bed, which seemed very awkward and just _personal_. She jumped to her feet like she had been sitting on hot coals, and Brendan turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"Soren, Demi! Are you hungry? You've haven't eaten anything since this morning!" May exclaimed, too loudly. Her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Are _you_ hungry, May?" Brendan asked sarcastically, clearly referring to how weird she was acting.

"Be quiet, I'm talking to my pokemon," she said. She pointedly avoided eye contact with him by staring at Soren and Demi.

Demi quirked her ears and nodded gleefully. Soren, however, wrapped his arms around his skinny green legs, and then he turned his head away.

"Treecko," he said sulkily.

May frowned in concern. She moved back towards her bed and sat down on the slightly springy mattress, positioning herself in between her two pokemon. She rested her hand on Soren's shoulders gently.

"You sure? You need to eat," May said. She leaned down, trying to get him to look at her, but he stared determinedly at his hands.

"Ko," he muttered, shaking his head.

She glanced at Brendan, silently asking for help with her eyes. Unfortunately, he simply shrugged uncomfortably and tried to focus on the TV.

_Some help, _May thought. She turned her attention back to Soren. Her treecko had been known to pout on occasion, and he had even been quite bratty before. However, she had never seen him act this upset.

"Soren," May tried again, yet he still wouldn't talk to her.

She knew what the problem was; he was mad at himself for losing to Nosepass. Honestly, she knew the feeling! But didn't he know that it was her fault, not his?

All of a sudden, May realized what the real issue was. Here she was, moping around about the loss, and it definitely wasn't helping Soren feel better. It was stupid of her to expect him to just get over it when she couldn't even do it.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Soren, you did a great job in the battle. It's my fault, okay?"

"Treecko," Soren said, shaking his head.

"Listen, you're awesome," May said, her voice quivering a little. "Just because we weren't ready for that battle doesn't mean you aren't."

"Ril," Demi added, snuggling her head against May's arm. She rubbed between the azurill's ears appreciatively, although her gaze remained on Soren.

Finally, Soren faced her, but he still didn't look completely satisfied. May struggled to come up with something else to say to reassure him, but nothing popped into her brain.

Surprisingly, Brendan sighed and finally took it upon himself to enter the conversation. "Just train a little bit and battle her again," he said, his voice laced with a strange emotion.

This time, Soren wasn't the uncertain one. May looked up at Brendan self-consciously. She didn't know if she was ready to battle Roxanne again, but at the same time, she didn't want to give up on her dream or let her pokemon down.

Brendan spent a long moment contemplating his follow up. Carefully, he said, "Part of being a trainer is getting past obstacles. To be a great one, you have to keep going."

"Well look at you, getting all poetic," May said weakly. She attempted to laugh, but she couldn't really force it out.

Brendan was a great trainer. Or at least, he had been. Had he gotten past his obstacle, which was so terrible it made her meager loss seem insignificant? Honestly, she didn't know that he had. May wanted desperately to ask him about it, but she wasn't sure how he would react.

Mustering up all of her bravery, she asked, "Um, are you going?"

Brendan frowned, and his posture stiffened. "What?"

"I meant, are you okay?" May asked, her voice growing stronger. She had already dug her hole, so she might as well dig it deeply.

"I'm fine," he said coolly, and May didn't believe him for a second. Brendan was annoying, even insufferable at times, but she was beginning to consider him as a friend. He had even tried to help her with her confidence just then.

Whether he liked it or not, May resolved then and there to try and help him, too.

"If I go train again for Roxanne…" she began, thinking over her options carefully. She had the inklings of an idea, one that might benefit them both, yet she didn't know if he would agree to it. "Would you help me?"

"Help you how?" Brendan asked quizzically. Her unexpected request had obviously caught him so off-guard that he had forgotten how annoyed he had been with her only moments ago.

"You could give me tips and stuff like you did that day with Wally," May suggested hopefully. "Sort of like a coach?"

Brendan was quiet for a long time, and she could tell he was thinking over what she had said carefully. He ran his fingers over his hat in agitation.

"No," he said.

May's shoulders slumped. She didn't want to admit it, but that had actually hurt her feelings. Maybe he didn't really see her as a friend, after all.

"Please?" she asked again, trying to channel the pitiful cuteness of Demi's charm attack.

Brendan stared at her, looking torn. Finally, he groaned and lay in his bed so that he was facing the wall.

"Fine! Whatever. But I'm the boss, got it?" he said reluctantly.

May beamed at his back. Of course he wasn't going to be the boss, but she didn't have to break that to him until tomorrow.

"Great," she said happily. Then she looked down at Soren again, her expression stern. "And you _are_ going to eat, Mr.!"

The treecko huffed, which told May that he was already back to himself again.

* * *

><p>The next day, May and Brendan hiked a mile or so east of Rustboro City and onto Route 116. Unlike the areas of Hoenn she had already traveled through, which were mostly flat, this region was formed from rolling hills. To the northeast, she could even see the peeks of mountains<p>

Finally, Brendan stopped them at a spot he apparently deemed satisfactory. It looked pretty normal to May, but she didn't want to question her new "coach" so soon. She grabbed for the pokeballs on her belt, ready to start working with her pokemon.

"Woah woah woah," Brendan said, shaking his head with a slight smirk on his face. "Who said your pokemon are the ones who need training?"

May raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if maybe this was all getting to his head. Hesitantly, she let her hand fall back to her side.

"Oh? And how exactly are you going to train me, Birch?" she asked, mocking the way he sometimes still called her by her last name. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to annoy him nearly as much as it did her.

Brendan tapped his finger to his temple casually. "Your problem," he said, "is mental."

"Are you calling me stupid?" May asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that." Brendan said, rolling his eyes. Under his breath, he muttered, "I didn't say you weren't, either, but-"

May smacked him lightly on the arm, scowling at him. "Are you going to help me, or not?"

"_Yes,_" he stressed. "Step one. Why'd you lose the battle?"

She frowned, holding her arms against herself. "I wasn't ready for her at all," she admitted. "Demi couldn't do _anything_, and I should've worked more on Soren's bullet seed. But mainly I need to focus on Demi."

May looked at him expectantly, knowing she had the correct answer. Contrary to what Brendan might think, she wasn't stupid. She knew more about pokemon than a lot of people, except for the fact that she hadn't had much hands-on experience.

To her surprise, Brendan shook his head.

"Those were problems, but they weren't the main reason you lost," he said bluntly. "It's because you were freaking out, and that messed up everything. Your pokemon can sense when you don't have confidence in them."

"I had confidence in them!" May exclaimed defensively. It was true. She did believe in her pokemon, and she always had. It was uncertainty in herself that she had been feeling, but she wasn't about to tell Brendan that.

"In Soren, maybe," Brendan said doubtfully.

"What are you trying to say?" May asked, crossing her arms. "I don't play favorites!"

"So you baby them both equally," Brendan said, scoffing. "But you know Soren's stronger, and it makes you doubt Demi."

May tried to shake her head, to deny it, but Brendan was ahead of her.

"You should've seen your face the first time the bubble didn't work," he said. For once, there was no trace of humor or superiority in his voice. He really believed what he was saying.

She sighed in defeat. "So I need to work with Demi _and_ make sure she knows I believe in her." It was more of a statement than a question.

Brendan nodded. "Yep. And work on strengthening Soren's attacks some more."

"Okay," May agreed, determined to get things right this time. "I'll make sure that Demi takes care of Geodude. I know Soren can beat Nosepass if he isn't already exhausted by the time he gets there."

To May's surprise, Brendan unclipped a pokeball off of his belt and enlarged it, ready for release. "I figured Neptune could help you show Demi some moves," he explained.

"Anything else?" she asked, half joking. She was anxious to bring her pokemon out and get some real work done.

"Well-" Brendan began, a gleam in his eye. May shot him a look, and he laughed. She decided she probably didn't even want to know what sort of ridiculous request he had been about to make.

"But seriously," he said after his amusement had died down. "Think about your pokemon's strengths. Roxanne has a rock field to help out her pokemon. How can you make it yours?"

_Make it mine, huh?_ May thought, ideas circling the back of her mind as she called out Soren and Demi.

* * *

><p>"May," Roxanne said, her voice lightly surprised. "I'm glad to see you back. I hope you've improved since our last battle."<p>

May nodded, managing a weak smile. Normally, she would be wondering if she should be offended by that comment or not, but instead she clutched a pokeball in her hand and glanced at the bleachers. She hoped Brendan had gotten there already. After all, she'd been rushed through much faster this time, having already passed her written exam previously.

He'd better be there, at least to see if his advice would pay off.

He was there alright, but to May's immense displeasure, he wasn't alone. A familiar man sat next to him, chatting eagerly into his ear. His flowery shirt was a horrendous shade of purple that day.

It was that obnoxious guy from Petalburg City.

_What's _he_ doing here?_ she thought despairingly. _Of all the people in Hoenn, why him? Why does there have to be an audience at all?_

For his part, Brendan looked about as thrilled as a shroomish in a pit of hot lava. He sat slumped in his seat, trying in vain to ignore the man and focus on the battlefield in front of him. At least May wasn't the only miserable one in this situation.

"Are you ready to begin?" Roxanne asked. The gym leader was watching her peculiarly, and she gingerly held a pokeball in her right hand.

"Uh, yeah," May said, tearing her eyes away from the stands. She took a deep breath, trying to zone out everyone in the room but her.

She could do this. She had to.

Roxanne waved away her judge before releasing her first pokemon. "She already knows the rules. Geodude!"

Geodude appeared, taking in May with cocky black eyes. She wrinkled her nose at him.

Geodude was about to go down.

"You can do it, Demi!" May called, tossing Demi's pokeball forwards determinedly. It burst open, sending the azurill back out onto the same rocky field she had been on merely a week ago.

Demi glanced back at May, and she mustered all the confidence she had into her nod. She had to prove to everyone: Brendan, her mom, Professor Birch, and especially her dad, that she could be tough, too.

"So you're using the same pokemon," Roxanne said appraisingly. "Let's see if you've made the correct decision. Geodude, rollout!"

By now, the picture of Geodude charging forward in ball formation was all too familiar to May. Well, if Roxanne thought beating her was going to be as simple as last time, then she was in for a surprise.

"Come on Demi, like we practiced!" May encouraged.

Perched expertly on her tail, Demi used it to bounce easily out of Geodude's path. She continued hopping across the rocks, giggling. Her balance was a bit wobbly, but it seemed to be working.

"Water gun!" May said, remembering that the strategy of getting Geodude while his back was turned had worked last time.

Demi opened her mouth and spat out a mass of water that seemed far too big to be contained in her tiny body. She was slower than Soren, which gave Geodude the time to halt his attack, yet the water washed over him in mid turn. He cried out in more pain than the meager bubble attack had given him and pulled himself behind a large boulder for shelter.

_Thank you, Neptune,_ May thought. The golduck had reluctantly led Demi through the steps it took to condense her bubbles into a stronger attack. She would have to buy him an extra-large dessert, or whatever it was that aquatic birds preferred to eat.

"You've trained," Roxanne said thoughtfully. "Time to step things up, Geodude. Rock polish and then rollout!"

From behind his safety boulder, Geodude's skin lit up a shiny white shade before slowly dimming back to normal. Frantically, May tried to remember what exactly rock polish did. Did it raise defense, or what?

_Oh._

Geodude propelled himself away from his rock, suddenly rolling towards Demi at a significantly faster speed. The rock polish had made him as fast as she was, and May knew he was too close for her to escape.

"Stop him with water gun!" she cried.

Demi shot a stream of water at Geodude, which easily collided directly with his center at such a close range. To May's dismay, the rock type gritted his teeth and plowed through the water, which scattered in large droplets around the edges of his circular body. With a splash, he struck Demi and sent her crashing across the gym floor.

May held her breath, but Demi wiggled her way back to her feet, shooting her trainer a reassuring grin. She was hurt, but at least the water gun had lessoned the damage somewhat.

Meanwhile, Geodude shook himself to rid his body of water. His mouth was curled in displeasure, and he eagerly rushed into another rollout attack.

_Use my surroundings, use my surroundings,_ May chanted, inwardly panicking.

"Demi, water gun on the ground in front of him!" she tried, grasping at the charms on her bracelet. She really hoped the actual luck decided to pull through this time.

Blindly trusting May, Demi aimed her water gun at the rocky ground in Geodude's path. Although it didn't accomplish what May had crazily hoped it would (which involved forming a slippery puddle), it did managed to send mud and pebbles into Geodude's vision. Grunting, he attempted to swat away the debris, which caused him to veer off course and slip into a mass of rocks.

As Geodude crawled out of the rocks, Roxanne shook her head. This wasn't working for her, and she was preparing to switch strategies. "Rock throw!"

May felt her nerves grow. Demi had improved, but no matter how much better she was doing, she simply wouldn't be able to avoid all of those rocks.

Feeling desperate, May cried, "Use charm!"

As Geodude began grappling about for rocks, Demi enlarged her eyes and batted them innocently at Geodude. She titled her head ever so slightly to the left, enhancing her utter adorableness.

Geodude paused uncertainly. After a brief moment, he began throwing rocks across the field, but there was a certain hesitance about his moves that prevented the attack from reaching its full power.

Despite Geodude's temporarily weakened resolve, rocks were hurdling towards Demi. One shot dangerously towards her, but there was no way she could avoid it without running straight into another one. Demi glanced around, desperately searching for a safe spot.

"Block with water gun!" May pleaded.

The water met the rock in mid air. Unfortunately, there was nowhere near enough force behind it to knock it away, so it dropped straight through the liquid. Unable to escape, Demi was knocked aside roughly by the rock.

For a scary moment, May feared she had been knocked out again. However, Demi shifted shakily, afraid to move under the ongoing downfall of stones. Only one good thing came out of the attack: it had put Demi close to a potential shield.

"Get behind that rock!" May urged anxiously, stealing Roxanne's earlier idea. It was one of the larger boulders on the field, and there was no way even Geodude could move it.

Weakly, Demi scurried behind the makeshift shield, getting scraped by another stone in the process. Geodude, who was now completely recovered from the charm attack since he couldn't see Demi, redirected his attack. His rocks bounced loudly against the larger one, but they couldn't reach Demi.

May didn't know what to do. This battle was quickly nearing its end, for both pokemon looked ready to pass out. She needed to beat Geodude, and fast, but there was no way for Demi to reach him without fainting before she got there.

Their only chance was for Roxanne to get frustrated enough to have Geodude come to Demi. Biting her lip, May stayed silent, ready to wait it out.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Stop," Roxanne told Geodude, frowning in concentration. He stopped tossing rocks and looked at his trainer in relief. "Go tackle her. You know what to do."

Geodude nodded, heading towards Demi. May tried to follow his progress, but she soon lost him. The battlefield had become littered with rocks of all sizes, and she recalled that geodude were skilled at concealing themselves as boulders.

_Fantastic, _May thought worriedly. She should've known Roxanne wouldn't send her pokemon into attack recklessly.

The battlefield grew hauntingly silent for a few moments before a mound of rocks behind Demi erupted. Geodude leapt out of them, coming straight for her. Her former shield had turned against her, for it now cut off any possible escape route.

"Water gun!" May said, getting a strange sense of déjà vu. She prayed it didn't turn out like last time.

Although Demi watched Geodude with wide eyes, she managed to produce one last, weakened water gun attack. It smacked him in the face, yet he still rammed her into the rock behind her. She slid down the hard surface, eyes closed.

Demi was down for the count.

May was so upset upon recalling Demi that it took her a moment to realize that Roxanne, grim faced, was doing the same to Geodude. Apparently, the attack had been too much for him to take, after all.

They could still do this.

Steeling her resolve, she plucked Soren's pokeball off of her belt and threw it onto the battlefield. He materialized from the white light, tapping his foot impatiently. Across from him, Roxanne had already released Nosepass, who Soren glared down with defiant yellow eyes.

"Bullet seed," May said immediately.

"Defend with block!"

The barrage of seeds fired roughly into Nosepass, who was distracted from his attack. Soren was simply too quick for him, and Roxanne knew it. Lips pursed, the gym leader called out another attack.

"Thunder wave!"

The streak of electricity shot towards Soren, who leapt nimbly out of the way using his quick attack. A second and third wave followed the first, although to May's immense relief, he managed to weave around those, too.

She racked her brain, trying desperately to figure out what to do next. No matter what, she couldn't risk Soren getting paralyzed or worn down again, for that would take away his greatest advantage: his speed. Unfortunately, Roxanne was well aware of this.

"Add in some rock tombs, Nosepass!" she said, crossing her arms in a somewhat superior manner.

"You can't let that hit you, Soren!" May cried. If he got trapped again, they were through. He didn't have any attacks strong enough to break out of it.

Nosepass was slow, but between dodging his barrage of thunder waves and rock tombs, Soren quickly found himself on the opposite edge of the battlefield from his opponent. Roxanne smirked.

"Now use block."

Rocks shot up out of the ground everywhere, many of them forming tall formations over both May and Roxanne's heads. Combined with the earlier rock throws from Geodude and even Nosepass's own rock tombs, Roxanne had crafted a forest of stone.

May frowned, straining to find Soren in the mess. She didn't know what Roxanne was trying to accomplish, because she was sure that neither of them could really see anything!

Finally, she found him, hovering uncertainly between two large boulders. She caught his eye and pointed meaningfully in the direction Nosepass had last been in. He nodded and darted off between the rocks towards his opponent.

When he spotted Nosepass, Soren triumphantly leapt out from behind one of the towers of stone to spit a rapid-fire bullet seed at him. However, clunky as Nosepass was, he simply inched his way behind one of his rocks for protection, leaving Soren's attack to bounce harmlessly off the walls.

"Rock tomb!" Roxanne said again.

Rocks sprung up where Soren had been standing with a loud crash, and May realized they were meant more to keep him on the run than to actually hit him. It gave Nosepass time to change position.

"Now, use rock throw!"

May was stumped. Nosepass wasn't near Soren, and there was no room to hurl massive boulders with the battlefield in its current state. What was Roxanne thinking?

To May's shock, smaller, sharper rocks shot around a corner towards Soren. He cried out in surprise and hit the floor, although a few still scraped painfully across his back before shooting into the rock behind him.

"What!?" May cried, pulling at her hair. A couple spires away from Soren, she could see yet more rocks on the way. "Soren, keep moving!"

She couldn't win like this. Soren was doing a relatively good job dodging, but there was no way he could get a solid hit on Nosepass. All Roxanne was doing was wearing down his strength slowly.

"How is it doing that?" she questioned aloud, frustrated. Surprisingly, she got an answer.

"My field is magnetized," Roxanne said confidently. "Nosepass can control anything he wants."

Well that was just great. A magnetic field!

_What to do, what to do…. How can a grass type work a rock field to his advantage? Wait… it's a rock _forest_._

May wanted to smack herself on the forehead for being so stupid. "Soren, climb up one of those rocks and try to attack from above!"

With ease, Soren climbed to the top of one of the pillars, where he gained a better vantage point of the entire field. Occasionally, another bundle of rocks would shoot up from the ground to chase him, but he was in his element. He darted among the rocks expertly, treating them as if they were real trees.

The battle quickly became a game of hide-and-seek. Soren jumped from rock to rock, popping out on Nosepass and using his bullet seed attack. Usually, it only grazed him, for he was consistently nearby other rocks he could step behind for shelter.

Because Nosepass always looked so impassive, it was practically impossible for May to tell exactly how much damage Soren was doing. Judging by Roxanne's tight expression, it was enough.

At the same time, Nosepass kept trailing Soren with rock throw. His attacks struck significantly less often than Soren's did, but May was quickly growing concerned. Whether she liked it or not, Nosepass had a much higher defense than Soren, and if this was going to be a test of stamina, it would be difficult for her treecko to win.

"Nosepass, close your eyes and focus," Roxanne said tensely. Obviously, she wasn't feeling any more assured than May at this point in the battle.

"Pass," Nosepass grunted. He must have closed his eyes in concentration, but May couldn't really tell.

She wasn't sure what Roxanne was trying to do, but she had a nasty feeling that magnetism had something to do with it. Could Nosepass sense where Soren was if he used that ability? She wasn't about to stick around and find out.

"Soren, you have to get him now! Bullet seed, close up!" she ordered, heart pounding.

Determinedly, Soren shot across a few rocks to dive bravely down towards Nosepass. Glowing yellow seeds spilled out of his mouth and cannoned powerfully into the rock type for the entirety of his fall, which seemed to last an eternity. He finished the attack and landed a few feet away, watching his opponent with tired yellow eyes.

And then he was suddenly encased in Nosepass's rock tomb attack.

"No! Soren, try to break out! Bullet seed!" May begged.

Nothing happened. She didn't know what to think, not after everything they had just gone through. It didn't even seem real.

Roxanne let out a relieved breath, as if she had been holding it for a very long time. "Sorry, May, but it looks like-"

She cut herself off, starting at Nosepass's rock tomb in shock. A light, green glow was radiating through the cracks in the stone, and suddenly, the rock was shattered as palm-sized yellow seeds erupted from within. Soren stood at the center, his scales literally glowing emerald.

May stared, open-mouthed. Somehow, she managed to blurt, "Absorb!"

Soren's green glow intensified, and Nosepass was unable to react when large, glowing pools of energy were sucked out of his body. They hovered in the air momentarily before floating back to Soren, who looked suddenly revitalized.

The green glow dimmed, and Soren watched smugly as Nosepass trembled and fell onto his back, the impact of which shook the entire battlefield.

"Roxanne's pokemon are unable to battle. The challenger wins!"

May pulled out her Pokedex and read over the screen in disbelief. Soren's Overgrow ability had kicked in right when he was about to faint.

May loved Overgrow.

Shoving the device back into her pocket, she ran, beaming, straight onto the battlefield, where she swept Soren into her arms. She squeezed him as tightly as she could without strangling him, and although he made a show of rolling his eyes, she had a feeling he loved the attention.

"Soren, we did it! We won!" she said excitedly.

"Tree," he said, in a 'duh' tone.

A tap on her shoulder drew May out of her thrilled daze. She turned around to face Roxanne, who was smiling at her wryly. The gym leader held something shiny out to her, and she opened her hand to accept it.

A tiny, metal object that looked somewhat like a broken rectangle fell into her palm. It was glittering a gorgeous pink and yellow. Beaming, May held it up so that Soren could look at it with her.

"Congratulations on winning the Stone Badge, May. That was a fantastic battle," Roxanne said, inclining her head slightly. A knowing spark entered her dark eyes. "Norman would be proud."

May faltered. "W-what did you say? I don't know a Norman," she said awkwardly.

She failed at life. Her secret that she didn't even know the reason for keeping was out already.

Roxanne's lips twitched into the faintest trace of a smile. "Like father like daughter, I suppose. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks," May said, relieved. At least she wouldn't have to worry about her dad trying to kill her. Maybe.

Roxanne eyes drifted to something over her shoulder, and they widened. "Brendan Birch. Are you taking the gym challenge again?"

May spun around, vaguely noticing that Brendan was shaking his head grumpily at Roxanne's question.

"Brendan, I won!" she exclaimed needlessly, smiling widely. She impulsively opened her left arm (the one that wasn't holding Soren) as if to hug him, but she backed out at the last second. After pausing uncertainly for several moments, she settled for awkwardly slapping him on the shoulder, trying not to blush at her actions.

"You get weirder every day," Brendan said, shaking his head at her. Then, he actually gave her a small smile. "Good job, though."

"Thanks for helping me," May said, so happy that she ignored Soren's obnoxious sniggers in the background. She just couldn't wait to tell her dad about her badge!

Brendan opened his mouth, probably to add some other sarcastic remark that would ruin their bonding moment, but a hand fell on his shoulder. He immediately became sullen looking again.

"I gotta say, that was a fantastic battle, young lady!" the man from before exclaimed. He belted out a laugh. "I was surprised, after our little meeting in Petalburg. But I guess I should've expected nothing less from a friend of Brendan Birch, huh?"

At this, he shook Brendan's shoulder, chuckling as if they were the greatest of friends. Then his eyes (Which were still covered by sunglasses, even inside) turned to Roxanne.

"I was just waiting on Roxanne here to finish her gym battle. I've been meaning to scope out the trainer's school, but boy did I stop by at the perfect time!"

"Oh, thanks," May said, uncertainly. She sneezed then, and when she wiped at her face, she noticed a layer of dust rub off on her finger. It was from all the rocks being tossed around, probably.

"Right this way then, Scott," Roxanne said, stony faced. She wasn't exactly the most excitable person, but as she led 'Scott' away, May decided that she wouldn't be smiling, either.

"Who the heck is that guy, anyway?" May asked, once they were back onto the streets of Rustboro. She alternated between playing with her shiny new badge and the charm bracelet on her wrist.

"He's not a trainer," Brendan said, confirming May's earlier thoughts. He frowned. "But he's obsessed with powerful ones. He owns this big tourist trap called the Battle Frontier, and he only wants the best to challenge it."

"Oh," May said. Then something dawned on her. "So he wanted you to challenge it?"

"Sort of…" Brendan said, drawing in on himself the way he always did.

May sighed. She was going to get him to open up sooner or later, but for now she decided to move on to a safer topic.

"So Brendan… What's Neptune's favorite dessert? I owe him."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Fun fact? I totally jammed out to R/S/E battle music while I wrote May's battle against Roxanne. I had to play it about a bazillion times because battles are so hard for me.

**NOTICE**: There will be only two updates for the month of February (So the next update will be the **13th**). School is kicking my butt right now, and I've been getting a bit behind on my writing. I need to take a breather and catch up, because some serious mental exhaustion is kicking in. On the bright side, next chapter is the longest one yet, so it should do a decent job of holding you guys over when it gets here.

If all goes well, we can return to weekly updates in March!

**Which city/town in the pokemon world is the coolest? **(I always loved Fortree, just because I thought it would be awesome to live in a tree house when I was a kid.)


End file.
